The opening of Terminal 5 at Heathrow last week has been hailed as a new beginning for the airport, but the four older terminals are still a disgrace, according to travellers.

A list of the best and worst airports, decided by 7.8 million passengers, suggests that Heathrow’s transit system is comparable with the chaos encountered at Bombay airport and that its reputation for baggage delivery is at the same level as the airport at Caracas, the Venezuelan capital.

Heathrow was ranked 103rd out of 162 airports, with the main complaints regarding its snaking security queues, surly immigration officials and infuriating baggage system.

The airport fell 58 places in the rankings last year, which was due partly to a luggage crisis in August, when British Airways was so overwhelmed that it had to hire a fleet of lorries to transport unclaimed bags from Heathrow to a sorting facility in Milan.

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Heathrow, which is operated by the British Airports Authority, has the largest number of delayed flights in Europe, with more than one in three departing at least 15 minutes late.

Travellers who responded to questionnaires distributed by Skytrax, an airport consultancy, said that Heathrow’s worst attribute was its transit facilities. According to passengers, it was the eighth-worst place in the world to make international connections, with Bombay airport at the bottom of the list.

Heathrow’s best attribute was its duty-free shops, for which it ranked 42nd. The airport was also placed in the top half for its restaurants and cafés, for which it was ranked 72nd, and the friendliness of its staff, who were considered the 79th most polite.

It was ranked 105th for the state of its washrooms, and its general cleanliness let it down further, with the airport being placed 116th.

The best airport, according to the survey, was Hong Kong International, which achieved top ranking for its security processing and dining.

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