Strikes, a NATO air operation and staff shortages have already tested the patience of passengers this year. But which airports are particularly unpopular with travelers? According to a current analysis, Frankfurt-Hahn Airport should carry the “red lantern”. 

To mark the start of this year's holiday season, the air passenger rights portal Airhelp once again examined the ratings of the 20 German airports with more than 500 Google ratings and ranked them based on popularity. One year after the last analysis, eleven of the 20 airports are rated at least 0,1 stars lower. 

Frankfurt Hahn is the least popular in 2023 

The former US military airport Frankfurt Hahn took last place with 3,0 out of 5 stars from almost 4.800 reviews and has thus lost 2022 stars compared to 0,3. The airport itself, on the other hand, sees itself as one of the most important airports with many advantages. Berlin-Brandenburg Airport no longer occupies the last place in the ranking, but climbs to the penultimate place. With almost 25.000 ratings, however, just like last year, only 3,2 out of 5 stars were awarded - this means that the capital's airport received the same rating as in 2022. 

Third from last place were Hannover, Dortmund and Weeze with 3,7 stars each. This year, Cologne-Bonn Airport is on the spot with 3,5 stars with almost 13.000 ratings. 

Smaller airports are the most popular with passengers 

Three smaller airports, each with 4,3 stars, shared first place in this year's airport ranking: Münster-Osnabrück, Friedrichshafen and Nuremberg. The FMO thus defended its first place from last year with meanwhile 1.100 ratings, but has lost 0,1 stars compared to the previous year. Friedrichshafen and Nuremberg airports climbed from second to first place with the same number of stars and 720 and 5.200 ratings respectively. This means that the top 3 from 2022 have also been rated the best on Google this year.  

Overall, the airports were rated worse 

In a direct comparison with the ratings from 2022, it is striking that eleven airports were rated at least 0,1 stars lower. While Münster-Osnabrück Airport was still at the top with 4,4 stars last year, it now shares first place and will only be rated with 2023 stars in 4,3. Memmingen also falls from 3,8 to 3,7 stars. In Hanover and Dortmund the number of stars drops from 3,7 to 3,6. This year's Frankfurt Hahn Airport, which was last in the ranking, has deteriorated significantly from 3,3 to 3,0 stars.  

Julián Navas, legal expert at AirHelp, comments: “This year, air traffic has already been affected at the beginning of the travel season. Whether strikes, technical problems or generally long waiting times at the check-in stations, travelers have many aspects to complain about. The ranking shows that conditions have actually deteriorated compared to last year, as most airports received even fewer stars compared to 2022. Travelers who are having problems with their flights can read all of their rights in our latest Air Passenger Rights Guide.”