Which? Magazine singles out regional airport for third year in a row

Doncaster Sheffield Airport (DSA) is celebrating topping the Which? Magazine Best and Worst UK Airports survey for the third consecutive time – its fifth appearance in the top five.

The survey measured 6,237 separate airport experiences remarking that 97% of its passengers would recommend Doncaster Sheffield, praising its “personable and helpful” staff.

Other areas of note were accessible parking – rated favourably by respondents – coupled with short or non-existent security and passport control queues creating a stress-free journey.

Robert Hough, Chairman of Doncaster Sheffield Airport, said: “We’re proud to be judged the UK and the North’s best airport, this is great recognition of the exceptional customer service offered by every single member of the team.

“We have always set out to deliver a top-class passenger experience that people can’t get at any other airport.  Lengthy queues, disruption and hassle are not what people should experience when at an airport.

“We’ve enjoyed a strong performance this year with more routes announced than any other airport in the UK.

“Looking towards 2020 we will be focusing our efforts on delivering the next stage of our Masterplan, which has already received overwhelming support, from our local contribution, to the national level impact we can make with via a simple rail connection into the East Coast Mainline.”

The poll cemented DSA as Yorkshire’s favourite airport, scoring 86% overall. DSA received five-star ratings for queues at security and passport control and a four-star rating for staff, seating and toilets.

The Which? Award comes as passenger numbers are predicted to grow to 1.45m in 2019/20, with more new destinations for any UK airport since August 2018 including two new long-haul destinations – Sanford, Florida and Cancun, Mexico.

Doncaster Sheffield Airport has also recently been rated the best UK airport and in the top ten European airports for the last year by a leading global airport passenger service and benchmarking survey, The Airport Council International’s Airport Service Quality survey.

Which? Travel’s Naomi Leach said: “It is clear that smaller airports are generally outperforming their larger counterparts with seamless security checks and friendly staff making the biggest impression with flyers.”

Ian Smith, Director of Commercial and Passenger Experience at DSA, said: “This third consecutive win in such a prestigious publication is validation of the commitment of the whole team to deliver Easy, Fast and Friendly service for our customers for the whole of their airport journey.

“From parking, to check-in, to our retail and hospitality offer, it is all geared towards providing a great experience for the customer.

“Another win is a fantastic testament to the team and the great job that they are doing and gives us great confidence in further expansion and welcoming more customers through our doors to enjoy great service, and easy travel.”

 The survey was carried out between April and May 2019, recording the opinions and scores of 6,237 UK airport experiences in the past year.

Customer score is based on a combination of overall satisfaction and how likely respondents were to recommend the airport to a friend.

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