With hurried passengers, children running around, endless boarding announcements and long queues both at the check-in counter and before boarding the plane… going through the airport is often a stress-inducing experience. While some people enjoy the hustle and bustle of this world apart, others can’t wait to get on the plane and leave it all behind.
Indeed, it doesn’t always feel like the start of a vacation when you’re navigating a place that can feel overwhelming.
To reduce the pressure, it could be wise to choose destinations that don’t attract crowds of tourists, and ones where the airport is close to the city centre. These are some of the stress-busting factors highlighted by a study reported by the Schengen Visa Info website, based on data from the car rental company StressFreeCarRental.
Paying over the odds for a parking space can be another source of stress, which is why the analysis also takes into account parking rates at European airports. In light of this, the research suggests heading first and foremost to Northern Europe.
Here, it’s destination Denmark — and not to Copenhagen, but to Billund, already known to Lego fans for its Legoland park. In 2022, this airport welcomed some 3.7 million passengers, while London’s Heathrow Airport saw over 61 million!
Another advantage of this Danish city, a three-hour drive from Copenhagen, is also its airport’s proximity to the city centre, at just 5.9 km away. The only criticism that could be made concerns the limited choice of eateries, with just five options, compared to nine at Luxembourg airport, which comes second in the ranking, and 10 at Vilnius Airport in Lithuania, which comes third in the list of Europe’s least stressful airports.
Plus, the latter is not far from the city centre, at just 6.4 km away. If you’re not tempted by these European destinations, try looking at the Mediterranean, where there’s a wide choice of airports that won’t put you off with their stressful environments. In Spain, try the Balearics, where the sublime island of Menorca comes fourth in this ranking. For lovers of Greece, there’s Corfu, which welcomed just 3.7 million travellers in 2022 (7th).
Options in Italy include Turin Airport (9th) and Cagliari, Sardinia (10th).
Top 10 least stressful
European airports:
Billund (Denmark)
Luxembourg
(Luxembourg)
Vilnius (Lithuania)
Menorca (Spain)
Hannover (Germany)
Newcastle (United
Kingdom)
Corfu (Greece)
Trondheim (Norway)
Turin (Italy)
Cagliari (Italy)
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