London Luton Airport is 'UK's worst airport' in survey

Luton Airport has been named the worst in the UK - and Doncaster Sheffield the best - in a survey based on passenger satisfaction.

London Luton got one star in half of the 10 categories in the Which? study with a customer score of 29% based on overall satisfaction.

It was described as "chaos", "crowded" and a "rip-off".

Doncaster got 87% with five-star customer service and users referring to it as "relaxed" and "quiet".

The consumer group surveyed its subscribers who had travelled through an airport between May 2016 and May 2017.

Luton is in the large UK airports category with 10m or more passengers per year and Doncaster is classed as a small airport.

Luton scored low in categories for range of shops and food outlets, toilets and staff.

It is undergoing a £110m redevelopment which has led to disruption, but it has been at the bottom of the Which? airport ranking for five years.

1. Doncaster Sheffield (87%)

2. London Southend (84%)

3. Norwich (75%)

3. Southampton (75%)

5. Exeter (71%)

1. London Luton (29%)

2. London Stansted (38%)

3. Manchester Terminal 3 (43%)

4. Aberdeen (44%)

5. Manchester Terminal 1 (50%)

An airport spokesman said: "We're disappointed in these results as they don't accurately reflect the experience of the majority of our passengers."

The spokesman said the poll took place during the most intensive phase of the airport's redevelopment.

"Of the 1.7 million people who responded to our ongoing customer service tracking, during the first six months of 2017, 75% told us they were happy with their experience, a 5% improvement on the same period last year," he said.

"Since then we have made significant improvements to the airport's infrastructure, added new shops and restaurants and passenger services such as free wi-fi.

"We appreciate the patience of our passengers as we develop the airport, which will result in a better experience for everyone."

Doncaster Sheffield Airport chief executive, Steve Gill, said he was "simply thrilled" to have topped the poll.

"Getting five stars for our staff is a great recognition of our team, their dedication... delivering a top customer experience is one of our main values and to have it confirmed in this way is very heartening," he added.