Travelling on holiday with young children in tow can make navigating the airport a stressful experience so getting the holiday off to the right start at a family friendly airport can make a big difference.
That’s why travel insurance experts at PayingTooMuch analysed 30 of the UK’s most popular airports to find out which ones are the most friendly and easy for families to use to minimise the airport “sighs” and the “woes”.
Metrics used by PayingTooMuch included things such as kids play areas, breastfeeding facilities and even child access to lounges.
London Gatwick came out on top as the UK’s most family friendly which as London’s primary leisure airport is perhaps no surprise offering fast track security for infants under 2, play areas and one of the lowest costs for children’s access to lounges.
Birmingham Airport ranked top for the fast track security offering with an upper age limit of 5 rather than the average 2, Manchester, Heathrow and Stansted don’t offer it all without additional costs.
The cheapest lounge access for kids was at Belfast International where it costs just £15.00 on average compared to around £20-£25 at other UK airports.
The data can help parents make decisions on where they fly from, particularly in the south east where there are multiple options, enabling them to get their holiday off to the best start.
The Top 10 Family Friendly Airports in the UK
| Rank | UK Airport | Breastfeeding facilities advertised (yes/no) | ‘Kid zones’ or play areas advertised (yes/no) | At what age (and under) do infants get free fast track? | Av. airport lounge cost(1 Child, £) |
| 1 | Gatwick | Yes | Yes | 2 | 20.53 |
| 2 | Luton | Yes | Yes | 2 | 21.49 |
| 3 | Liverpool (John Lennon) | Yes | Yes | 1 | 21.49 |
| 4 | Manchester | Yes | Yes | 0 | 20.32 |
| 5 | Belfast International | No | Yes | 2 | 15.00 |
| 6 | Glasgow | Yes | No | 3 | 20.00 |
| 7 | Birmingham | No | Yes | 5 | 26.25 |
| 8 | Leeds Bradford | No | Yes | 2 | 22.00 |
| 9 | Heathrow | Yes | Yes | 0 | 29.68 |
| 10 | Stansted | Yes | No | 0 | 18.99 |