OREANDA-NEWS. A study conducted by leading global travel search site Skyscanner, has named Heathrow as the best European airport for families.

Europe's busiest airport carrying almost 70 million passengers each year, Heathrow saw off tough competition across Europe, including the major hubs of Frankfurt and Paris Charles De Gaulle.

Skyscanner commissioned the study with the help of 35 family travel experts, who scored Europe's top 20* airports for their family facilities. Each airport was marked for its baby changing facilities, security process, food offering and entertainment, as well as an overall general family friendly score to take into account accessibility, the check-in process and baggage reclaim.

This success is in stark contrast to the Skyscanner study in 2012, which named Heathrow the least family friendly airport in the UK. However, over the past 18 months the airport has invested heavily in its facilities for families, including the introduction of play areas in each terminal and a dedicated family lounge.

Skyscanner's Mary Porter commented;

'This is great news for Heathrow and, although the sample was small, it is these personal experiences by those in the know that really demonstrate how well an airport is meeting the needs of its youngest customers.'

'Flying with a family can be challenging and it is great to see airports addressing this. Judging by the results of our study, this has certainly paid off for Heathrow and our hope is that other airports will now look to take similar steps, making life as easy as possible for flying families.'