Behind the Queues: What 27,000 Manchester Airport Reviews Reveal About Trust

We analyzed 27,000+ Manchester Airport reviews to reveal how trust is built, broken, and repaired. The findings show that queues and pricing spark anger, while simple wins in service create lasting loyalty.

David Chamberlain

Sep 9, 2025

When people think of Manchester Airport, the first words are usually queues, parking charges, or the sigh of relief after finally clearing security.

And the headlines back it up. Which? just ranked Manchester among Britain’s worst airports, with Terminals 1 and 3 finishing at the bottom of the table.

But behind the bad press sits something bigger: a real-time map of how customers build — and lose — trust. We dug into more than 27,000 reviews to find out what passengers really think.

On the surface, the numbers look fine - more positive reviews than negative overall. But most of those positives date back to the pre-COVID years. Since the pandemic, it’s not the same airport. The balance has shifted, and trust isn’t built on old averages. It’s won or lost in the moments that feel unfair, inconsistent, or out of a passenger’s control.

When Manchester was voted “Best UK Airport” back in 2015, only around 1 in 10 passengers left angry. Between 2014 and 2019, negative reviews made up just 10–18% of the total.

Fast forward to the post-pandemic years and the picture has flipped. From 2022–2025, nearly 9 in 10 passengers are leaving angry reviews. That’s not just a rise in dissatisfaction — it’s a wholesale collapse in trust.

The shift is stark:

Then: Awards, recognition, and relatively few complaints.

Now: Anger dominating the majority of reviews, with trust gaps visible at every stage of the journey.

Why does this matter? Because anger is different from mild dissatisfaction. Angry customers don’t just feel let down - they feel wronged. And those reviews spread further, hit harder, and linger longer in the public memory.

Sentiment by Terminal

Not all terminals are equal. On the whole dataset, when we split reviews by terminal, clear differences emerge:

Terminal 1: 50% positive, 36% negative — queues and dated facilities stand out.

Terminal 2: 51% positive, 37% negative — newer, but customers still complain about waits.

Terminal 3: 49% positive, 33% negative — fewer angry reviews but more “meh” experiences.

This shows that investment alone doesn’t shift perception.

Emerging Issues (2024–2025 vs Pre-2024)

One of the most important signals reviews provide is change over time. What’s getting worse, and where pressure is building?

Security queues: mentioned in 33% of reviews, up from 14% (+19.6pp).

Staff attitude / customer service: mentioned in 36% of reviews, up from 18% (+17.7pp).

Baggage delays: mentioned in 14% of reviews, up from 6% (+8.4pp).

Accessibility & assistance: mentioned in 8.5% of reviews, up from 1.5% (+7pp).

Signage & wayfinding: mentioned in 12.3% of reviews, up from 5.9% (+6.4pp).

These five categories represent the sharpest rises in negative feedback - and should be prioritised. By contrast, cleanliness, overcrowding, and food/drink pricing remain persistent issues, but aren’t accelerating as fast.

Domestic vs International Travellers

UK passengers are far more forgiving than overseas visitors.

Domestic (GB): 71% positive, 18% negative

International: 48% positive, 39% negative

International travellers are twice as likely to leave a negative review. For Irish, Spanish, and Danish passengers, negativity dominates. Their reviews often call out drop-off fees, border control, and signage

For the US it’s mainly passport queues.

The risk is clear: as a UK gateway, Manchester leaves many first-time visitors with a poor impression.

What Passengers Appreciate

Even in a stressful environment, Manchester Airport does get praise. Some bright spots:

Parking and Access

Convenience wins. Customers notice when the basics work.

“Used car park 1 and 2 over several years. Easy to book, easy to find, and reasonable prices.”

Friendly Staff

Moments of human kindness stick in memory.

“Meet & Greet at T2 was incredible for the level of service and friendliness of the staff.”

Shuttle Buses

Reliability matters — five minutes feels fine, 20 feels endless.

“Never waited for the bus more than 5 minutes. Car park is easy to find.”

Booking Online

Digital simplicity earns loyalty.

“Very easy to use from booking online to collecting my car on return. Would recommend.”

Where Frustrations Build

The negative reviews show patterns that repeat. And here’s where behavioural science comes in: not all pain points are equal. Some annoy, others feel like a betrayal.

Security & Passport Control: The Power of Control

Queues themselves aren’t the killer — it’s unpredictability. Behavioural economics shows we tolerate waiting better if we know how long it’ll take. Uncertainty magnifies stress.

“Problems upon return with passport control and waiting over 1 hour at baggage reclaim.”

Pricing & Value: The Fairness Effect

Unfairness triggers stronger anger than inconvenience. Paying £6 for six minutes in drop-off doesn’t just feel expensive, it feels exploitative — and humans are wired to revolt at unfairness.

“There is absolutely no way we were parked for 6 minutes in the drop-off zone. Complete rip-off!”

Meet & Greet: The Consistency Gap

Psychologists call this the violation of expectation. If service is sometimes great, sometimes awful, trust erodes faster than if it’s just average every time.

“Returned to find the inside of my car saturated due to windows left down. Appalling customer care.”

Tech Failures: Broken Promises

When number plate recognition or QR codes fail, it’s not just a glitch, it’s a breach of trust. Once a system fails, customers assume it might again.

“Number plate recognition didn’t work on entry or exit. More expensive this time due to school holidays.”

Opportunities to Improve

The reviews point to fixes that range from quick tweaks to bigger redesigns.

Quick Wins

Send a pre-trip “Ready to Go” email with parking details, QR codes, transfer times, and backups.

Add digital timers at drop-off zones to show how long cars have been there.

Show shuttle wait times on screens or in the app.

Use a Meet & Greet checklist: windows up, mileage logged, photo taken.

Refresh staff training on communication — people forgive delays if they feel informed.

Longer-Term Moves

Share real-time security and passport control wait times.

Redesign parking/drop-off pricing with grace periods and fairer bundles.

Improve QR/plate recognition reliability with manual fallbacks.

Standardize Meet & Greet service levels, with accountability checks.

Upgrade wayfinding: clearer signs, better maps in booking emails.

Why This Matters

Airports are high-stress zones. A single unfair or inconsistent moment can undo an otherwise smooth trip. Psychology research tells us:

Fairness trumps speed. People tolerate waits more than they tolerate feeling cheated.

Consistency beats occasional brilliance. Being predictably “fine” builds more trust than being sometimes amazing, sometimes awful.

Control lowers stress. Transparency on timing and process reduces frustration even when delays remain.

The data shows passengers want to like Manchester Airport. But when pricing feels like a trap or service flips unpredictably, goodwill collapses fast. And that’s the lesson for every business: reviews don’t just measure satisfaction, they map where trust breaks.

FAQ: Reviews and Trust

1. Why analyze reviews at all?

Because they’re unfiltered truth. Customers tell you what they value and where you’re breaking trust.

2. Isn’t it normal to have some angry customers?

Of course - no business can please everyone. But the issue here isn’t a few unhappy travellers, it’s the scale of the shift. In Manchester’s award-winning years, only 1 in 10 passengers left angry. Today, it’s nearly 9 in 10. That’s not background noise, it’s a collapse in trust.

3. Can negative reviews help?

Yes. They point exactly to the moments where improvements will have the biggest impact.

4. What’s the biggest mistake businesses make with reviews?

Treating them like a PR problem. They’re an operations problem. Reviews should flow straight into action.

5. How does Troof fit in?

Troof pulls reviews, surveys, and feedback into one place, analyzes the themes, and shows you what to fix first, so trust gaps don’t grow into reputation problems.

Final Word

Manchester Airport isn’t broken. It’s inconsistent. And inconsistency kills trust. The good experiences are real, but the bad ones feel sharper, stickier, and more likely to spread.

That’s true for any business. Customers don’t just rate you on convenience. They rate how you handle the hard moments.

👉 Want to see what your own reviews are really saying? Troof helps you surface the hidden trust signals inside customer feedback, so you can fix the cracks before they cost you loyalty.

How Much Do Star Ratings Really Impact Conversion Rates? More Than You Think. Remove 1-Star Fake Google Reviews: Protect Your Business

David Chamberlain