Heading on holiday this year? You might want to consider which airport you're heading to if you're travelling from the UK. The UK's best and worst airports have been named - and the winning spot might surprise you.London City Airport has emerged as the UK's highest-ranked airport in the 2026 AirHelp Score, securing 43rd place globally and beating every other British airport featured in the report.The AirHelp Score, one of the world's largest independent airport rankings, assessed 279 airports across 76 countries using data on on-time performance, passenger experience, facilities and comfort at the airport.The east London airport achieved an overall score of 7.92 out of 10, earning strong marks for punctuality and passenger experience. The result shows a growing trend in global aviation, with smaller airports increasingly outperforming larger hubs on reliability and customer satisfaction.Liverpool John Lennon Airport was the UK's second-highest ranked airport, placing 65th globally.Meanwhile, Heathrow recorded one of the strongest improvements in the report, climbing 85 places to 93rd worldwide. London City Airport was the highest ranking airport in the UK in the studyFor other UK airports, however, the picture was less positive.Manchester Airport recorded the lowest ranking of any British airport featured, falling 49 places to 269th out of 279 airports worldwide. Edinburgh dropped 75 places to 209th, Leeds Bradford fell 40 places to 172nd and Stansted slipped to 249th.The rankings suggest that many UK airports struggled to maintain performance over the past year. Of the 13 British airports included, most lost ground in the global standings, with London City, Heathrow and Newcastle among the few notable exceptions.Many of the world's busiest airports fell sharply in this year's rankings, while smaller and less congested airports continued to climb.Brazil was the standout performer, placing 12 airports in the global top 30. Fortaleza Airport ranked second worldwide, behind Panama City's Tocumen International Airport in first place, while Cape Town International Airport completed the global top three. On the other end of the scale, Manchester Airport was the lowest ranked UK hubSeveral major international hubs recorded significant declines. Dubai International fell 131 places to 149th, New York's JFK dropped 119 places to 204th and Chicago O'Hare slid 154 places to 245th.The 2026 report also includes airport-specific delay and cancellation data for the first time, giving passengers a clearer picture of what sits behind each score. The contrast across UK airports is stark - Manchester recorded a delay score of 3.4, the highest of any British airport in the report, while London City came in at 1.9.Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, said: 'The airports at the top of this year's rankings are not always the ones passengers might expect. Size and reputation are no substitute for operational consistency, and the data makes that very clear. 'For UK travellers, the results show real variation in what to expect depending on where they fly from, and on-time performance remains the single biggest factor in the overall passenger experience.'Manchester Airport's low ranking comes after a passenger single-handedly brought the major hub to a standstill during a four-hour face off with police - after he was denied boarding after 'peeing himself'. The man, identified online as Jack from Wakefield and who is said to be in his 40s, arrived at the airport for his flight to Jamaica - but was deemed unfit to fly by staff who felt he was intoxicated and appeared to have wet himself. The passenger protested against the decision by putting Terminal 2 on gridlock 'out of principle' - and live-streamed part of the incident on social media. During the stand-off, the airport's drop-off and pick-up forecourts were closed off, resulting in the surrounding roads becoming gridlocked with traffic. Chaos ensued as passengers were forced to abandon their taxis and walk to the departure hall. Images from the scene show massive traffic congestion spilling into the M56, while others show holidaymakers hauling their luggage out of taxis in the middle of the road, before heading to the airport on foot along the hard shoulder.Travellers took to social media to voice their frustration, with one person writing: 'Passengers are having to ditch taxis in a bid to make their flights.' Another reported: 'An elderly disabled woman being dropped off at the roundabout of T2 at 11:40 because everyone was just being told drop off was closed and you had to walk.'Why has this taken so long. Absolute shambles. Chaos outside the airport. No direction.'At the time of the incident, Manchester Airport urged passengers to 'allow plenty of time for their journey'. In a statement to Manchester Evening News, it added: 'We are grateful to our passengers for their understanding and patience this afternoon.' Greater Manchester Police later said the man was arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and a public order offence. However, reports claimed he was finally reimbursed over £3,000 for his holiday before he ended his protest. Manchester Airport is also where a brawl broke out on 23rd July 2024, which saw Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad being filmed allegedly assaulting three officers.The brothers claimed they were acting in self-defence. Amaaz was convicted of assaulting PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook in 2025. However, two juries have been unable to reach verdicts on whether Amaaz and Amaad had assaulted PC Zachary Marsden across two trials, and there will not be a third retrial.