You may opt to reschedule your booking after discovering which day of the week has a 30% probability of flight delays
When booking a flight, most travellers tend to opt for early morning or late evening flights to make the most of their holiday. Or more often than not, travellers are simply seeking the cheapest option.
However, it may be worth scheduling your time during off-peak airport times to avoid a costly and inconvenient delay. The Huffington Post in partnership with AirHelp, an air claim support website, conducted a probability study to determine what time of day flights are most likely to be delayed.
According to the research, most flight delays occur at 6pm local time. Contrastingly, the probability of a flight delay is lowest (20% or below) from 6am-11am local time. This is reportedly because early morning flights have less runway traffic to deal with, there are fewer planes already in the air and because planes can be prepped the night before. The study revealed that the day of the week you’re flying is also related to the likelihood of a delay. While it may be cheaper to fly on a weekday, the volume of commuting business travellers between Monday and Friday can increase congestion in the air.
The Huffington Post and AirHelp observed that the highest amount of delays occurred on Monday and Friday, with Friday carrying the highest probability of a delay (almost 30%). In comparison, Monday had a 25% probability of delay and Saturday has the lowest probability of delay across the week (18%).
If your primary focus is still saving money, consider planning your departures for Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. These are the cheapest days to fly and better your chances of avoiding a delay. In contrast, Sunday and Friday are the most expensive and popular days to fly, presumably because most people are trying to avoid booking an extra vacation day.
One final tip: no matter what day or time you are aiming to depart, try to book your flight on Tuesday as airlines often release sales starting from Monday night or Tuesday morning. Skyscanner has also created a Savings Generator tool to show travellers the average monthly price of their desired flight and advise them on the best time to book flights to popular destinations from the UK.
Be sure to also check the customs, security and boarding pass requirements of your airline and airport. Because while flight delays are impossible to plan for, there are still ways to save yourself from needless hassle at the airport.
