Heathrow revealed as the UK’s most stressful airport – with families most affected

Heathrow has been pinpointed as the UK’s most stressful airport in the inaugural UK Airport Stress Index, published by 1ST Airport Taxis.

Photo credits: 1ST Airport Taxis

• Survey respondents named security queues the top cause of airport stress (58%), closely followed by flight delays (54%).

• Stress levels were magnified for families travelling with children, with 62% focusing on security screening as their biggest concern.

• The average stress score for travellers was 6.4 out of 10, with families peaking at 7.1 and solo travellers rating their stress levels more moderately at 5.8.

• The summer holidays were identified as the most stressful time for all to travel, with Friday afternoons highlighted as the most congested period of the week for airport transfer services. 

  
  

Exclusive research

1ST Airport Taxis combined 6,430 passenger survey responses with operational analysis of more than 20,000 airport transfer journeys – taking place between May 2025 and April 2026 – to provide valuable insights of consumer sentiment across the UK’s busiest airports.The research covered six UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted, Birmingham and Luton. Almost one-third of respondents (31%) named Heathrow as the most stressful airport, followed by Gatwick (22%) while just 8% of respondents picked Luton, making it the least stressful airport.

Photo credits: 1ST Airport Taxis

The survey by the airport taxi transfer service discovered that nearly two-thirds of travellers (64%) now arrive earlier at airports than they did three years ago. Almost half (47%) will check their flight status multiple times.Among those surveyed, 63% had experienced a flight delay in the 12 months under review, 26% had suffered a flight cancellation, and 18% had missed a connection or important arrangement due to the disruption. Travellers were asked to rate their airport-related levels of stress on a scale of 1-10, and 33% defined their stress as ‘high’ (7-10). Another 46% claimed more moderate stress (4-6) and 21% reported lower stress levels (1-3).

Peak periods for stress

The summer holidays generate the highest reported stress levels, according to 39% of respondents, with 31% picking Christmas and New Year as the most stressful period instead. Half-terms proved the least stressful holiday period. 

1ST Airport Taxi’s own data from 20,000 transfers identified Friday afternoon as the busiest time for airport taxis, followed by Monday and then Thursday. The weekend is the quietest period for airport transfers. More than half of all demand occurs during the peak hours of 6am to 9am (28%) and 5pm to 8pm (24%).

Passenger priorities

Wajid Hussain, co-founder of 1ST Airport Taxis, remarked: “Our exclusive piece of research highlights growing concerns around airport delays, security queues, flight cancellations, immigration processing, and traffic congestion – and how travellers remain focused on prioritising reliability, predictability and reducing disruption."