And the easiest Midlands airport is…
People living in and around the Midlands have a clear choice if they want a simple, stress-free start to their holidays, according to recent data.
East Midlands Airport is the region’s easiest airport on a range of measures - with high scores for customer satisfaction, on-time departures, staff, check-in, baggage reclaim and on-time departures, alongside low levels of flight cancellations and delays.
The airport’s effortless credentials form the basis of a new advert which is running on over 130 TV channels and online through Sky Adsmart, proclaiming it the ‘Easiest Midlands Airport.’
The airport’s central location next to the M1 motorway means it’s easy to get to, and its size makes it easy to get through – helped by 99.7% of customers clearing security in under 15 minutes, a measure which consistently ranks East Midlands in the top two UK airports.
The Best Airports 2026 survey carried out by consumer champions Which? magazine revealed a 66% customer satisfaction score at East Midlands Airport – nine percentage points higher than Birmingham Airport. East Midlands customers ranked staff service, check-in queues and bag-drop queues four out of five stars, compared to Birmingham’s three, while for baggage reclaim there was an even starker difference of four compared to just one.
Meanwhile Civil Aviation Authority 2026 data shows that East Midlands recorded 74% of flights on time, compared with Birmingham’s 66%, with average delays that were four minutes shorter, at 13 minutes. CAA statistics also confirm fewer cancelled flights, with a rate of 0.3% - ten times lower than Birmingham’s 3%.
With around a quarter of the number of flights per year compared to Birmingham, East Midlands Airport offers an experience that is less crowded, with shorter walking distances, easier wayfinding and reduced queue pressure. It also excels at assisted travel, offering those who need it extra help on their journey from their car to their aircraft, a service which is highly rated by its users.
East Midlands Airport’s Commercial Director Adam Andrews said: “We pride ourselves on providing an effortless travel experience for our customers, and these figures clearly show how we stand out on that measure compared to our nearest competitor.
“We know that people can often feel that airports are something to endure, but as the data behind our TV advert shows, if people choose the right airport, it’s something they can actually enjoy as part of their holiday. We are demonstrably the easiest way to get away in the Midlands.”
Details of the data behind the TV advert are available here: Easiest Midlands Airport advert