Some 79% of holidaymakers said that queues were the most irritating part of the airport experience, followed by 68% who were annoyed by the price of food and drinks, according to a survey of nearly 2,000 people carried out by online travel agency sunshine.co.uk.

Other pain points for passengers were the busyness of airports (47%), hyperactive children (32%), how far apart everything is (27%), and waiting for luggage (24%).

The majority (53%) also said that they found the airport experience to be “very” stressful although two-thirds of these people admitted this was because they were rushing or did not leave enough time to do everything they wanted.

Nearly half (49%) said they always drank alcohol at the airport, while 37% of these people said they did this to make the experience “more bearable”.

Chris Clarkson, managing director of sunshine.co.uk, said: "The airport experience needn’t be a stressful one.

"Plan ahead to avoid any stressful situations; leave the house early to get there in plenty of time, pay a little extra for priority boarding, check in online if you only have hand luggage and pack your own, security-friendly food and snacks to take.

"A lot of the airport annoyances are simply unavoidable. They are busy places and you’re bound to be faced with crowds, hyperactive children and some of the more unfriendly members of staff that can be found in airports."