Air passengers rate Birmingham the best UK airport and Luton the worst, according to a poll.

Birmingham scored 54 points out of 60 while Luton got just 16, in a survey of 2,372 holidaymakers conducted by airporttransfers.co.uk.

Asked to rate various aspects of airport service, those polled awarded Birmingham 10 out of 10 for staff friendliness, check-in efficiency and shopping experience.

Luton scored just one out of 10 for staff friendliness and only one out of 10 for security check-in time.

Of the 10 airports surveyed, Cardiff was the next best, with a score of 48 out of 60.

After Luton, the next worst airport was Stansted with a score of 20. Gatwick got 26 out of 60 and Heathrow had 30. Heathrow got 10 out of 10 for shopping experience, with Stansted getting eight out of 10.

The poll also found that 63 per cent of respondents said they preferred flying from smaller, regional airports outside London and 12 per cent said the airport experience was one of the things they “most looked forward to” about a holiday.

Almost half (48 per cent) said they were prepared to travel more than 100 miles if it meant the airport they were flying from was “decent”, and 26 per cent felt that having a bad experience at the airport could ruin a holiday. Chris Brown, co-founder of airporttransfers.co.uk, said: “For some people, the airport experience can be a stressful one, especially when faced with delays, queues and unfriendly staff.

“I was really surprised to see London’s four main airports voted in the top five worst, but I think many people are put off by larger, busier airports.

While all the London airports scored relatively high for shopping experience, it seems a lot of passengers feel let down in the more important customer service areas such as friendliness of staff and check-in efficiency.”