- Lisbon, Manchester Lead Europe’s Most Stressful Airports as Delays and Poor Reviews Mount
Lisbon Airport has emerged as Europe’s most stressful major airport for travellers, with barely half of departing flights leaving on schedule and more than half of passenger reviews estimated to be negative, according to new research examining delays, security queues and traveller satisfaction across 30 European airports.
The August 2026 study by online luggage retailer Eminent gave Lisbon a maximum stress score of 100, placing the Portuguese capital ahead of Manchester Airport and London Stansted. The research combined 2025 departure and arrival punctuality, average schedule delays, security waiting times and passenger reviews to assess the airports most likely to frustrate travellers.
Lisbon recorded an annual departure punctuality rate of just 49.95%, the lowest among the major airports examined. Arrival punctuality stood at 65.99%, while departing passengers experienced an average schedule delay of 25.15 minutes and arrivals were delayed by an average 18.43 minutes.
Security waiting times were measured at 20 minutes, while Lisbon received an average traveller rating of 3.6 out of five. Eminent estimated that 55.00% of reviews were negative, with overcrowding and chaotic gate experiences featuring among passenger complaints.
The findings are particularly relevant during the peak summer travel period, when congested European airports can turn relatively minor disruptions into missed connections and substantially longer journeys.
Manchester Airport ranked second with a stress score of 85.70, recording departure punctuality of 66.16% and arrival punctuality of 69.03%. Average departure delays reached 18.73 minutes, while arrivals were an average 17.67 minutes behind schedule.
Passenger sentiment was an even bigger weakness for Manchester. Its average traveller rating of 3.2 out of five was the lowest among the airports highlighted in the research, while an estimated 48.00% of reviews were negative, with complaints centred on staff interactions and security experiences.
The airport’s relatively short four-minute security waiting time therefore did little to offset broader concerns surrounding punctuality and passenger experience.
London Stansted placed third with a stress score of 72.60, reinforcing the prominence of UK airports near the top of the ranking. The airport recorded departure punctuality of 72.59% and arrival punctuality of 71.38%, but passengers faced security waits of about 20.1 minutes.
Its average departure delay was 15.08 minutes, while arrivals were approximately 16.00 minutes behind schedule. Stansted received an average traveller rating of 3.3 out of five, with Eminent estimating that 45.00% of passenger reviews were negative.
Nice Côte d’Azur Airport ranked fourth with a stress score of 64.90. Its departure punctuality was only 62.66%, meaning more than one-third of flights did not depart on schedule, while average departure delays reached 20.61 minutes.
Despite those operational weaknesses, Nice performed better in passenger sentiment, receiving an average rating of 3.9 out of five and an estimated negative review rate of 36.00%.
Milan Malpensa completed the five most stressful airports highlighted in the study, recording a stress score of 62.90. The Italian hub posted departure punctuality of 67.66% and arrival punctuality of 75.94%, with average departure delays of 19.64 minutes.
Security waits of about 15.1 minutes and an estimated negative-review rate of 41.00% added to passenger frustration. According to the research, travellers also complained about the airport’s terminal layout and long walks between gates and passport-control facilities.
Paris Charles de Gaulle followed with a stress score of 59.00, despite having one of the shortest security waiting times in the data at about 3.4 minutes. Departure punctuality stood at only 61.07%, while average departure delays were 19.84 minutes.
Düsseldorf Airport recorded a lower stress score of 57.00 but stood out for the severity of passenger dissatisfaction. While its operational performance was comparatively stronger, including 73.27% departure punctuality, an estimated 50.00% of reviews were negative.
Athens International Airport scored 54.80, while Geneva Airport recorded 52.80 in the data supplied by Eminent. Athens nevertheless had the strongest passenger rating among the airports shown, at 4.3 out of five, highlighting how punctuality and queue performance do not always translate directly into overall passenger satisfaction.
The study illustrates the increasingly complex way airport performance is being assessed. On-time departures remain critical, but passenger experience can also deteriorate because of security bottlenecks, crowding, terminal layouts, staff interactions and inadequate seating.
That distinction is particularly important for travellers connecting through major European hubs. A flight delayed by 15 or 20 minutes may be relatively manageable at the beginning of a journey but potentially disruptive when passengers have short transfer windows.
A travel consultant quoted by Eminent advised travellers to build significantly more time into connecting itineraries at busy airports.
“A missed connection in a chaotic hub can turn a vacation into a nightmare,” the consultant said. “When booking flights, I tell clients to add at least three hours for transfers at busy airports, not the 90 minutes airlines suggest.”
“The extra time can save your trip when security lines stretch, or gates change at the last minute.”
The findings also underline how airport congestion can become an economic issue for airlines and travellers. Delays generate additional operating costs, missed connections can require rebooking and accommodation, while persistent poor passenger experiences can affect the attractiveness of particular airports for connecting traffic.
For travellers, however, the immediate lesson is simpler: the airport through which a journey is routed can matter almost as much as the airline or ticket price.
With only 49.95% of departures leaving on time and 55% of reviews estimated to be negative, Lisbon stands out in Eminent’s assessment as the European airport where those risks currently converge most sharply.
Data and research: Eminent
