Exclusive:
New analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) statistics by flight compensation experts AirAdvisor revealed the major UK airports where passengers experienced the longest delays to their flights in 2024
Gatwick and Stansted airports have been named as worst UK airports for delayed flights in 2024
New analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) statistics by flight compensation experts AirAdvisor revealed the major UK airports where passengers experienced the longest delays to their flights in 2024. Looking at CAA data from January 2024 to November shows the average delay to flights at Gatwick and Stansted each month regularly exceeded 25 minutes.
Manchester, Luton, Birmingham, Heathrow and Bristol airports were next in the rankings, with average delays to flights across 2024 hitting over 18 minutes. At the other end of the table, average delays at Liverpool, London City and East Midlands airports were below 13 minutes.
On its website, the CAA states that unforeseen events such as severe weather conditions, technical issues, or other extraordinary circumstances beyond airports and airlines control may impact flight schedules. These disruptions do not necessarily reflect the long-term performance or reliability of the airline or airport, as a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport argued was the case.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, said: “2024 was by no means a straightforward year for airports and carriers. The global IT outage in July resulted in worldwide travel chaos, causing mass delays and cancellations at airports across the world. The CAA’s data suggest that the average delay times at Gatwick and Stansted airports surged to 35 minutes in July, a considerable spike in comparison to their annual averages of around 20 minutes.
“Airports are still navigating a post-Covid travel boom which is seeing more people fly than ever before, with new routes launching on a daily basis and airports becoming busier as a result. At peak times, like the August school holidays, more planes leaving the tarmac makes delays and cancellations more likely.”
August was a particularly difficult month for Gatwick and Stansted, with the average delay times increased to 32 and 26 minutes, respectively.
In June, Manchester Airport experienced a power cut which it said caused widespread disruption to a significant number of flights. In the CAA statistics, the average delay time for the month of June rose to 27 minutes, compared to its 2024 average of 19.2 minutes. Weather events beyond the airports control were also a significant issue in 2024.
The same month, confusion surrounding liquid restrictions led to lengthy delays at Birmingham Airport – the CAA’s data shows average delays jumped to 25 minutes – across the whole reporting period. The average delay time was only 18.6 minutes.
“Fortunately, there is legislation in place that protects air passengers and entitles them to compensation when flights are delayed. If your flight is delayed by over two hours, your airline must provide you with food and drink vouchers to make your time at the airport more comfortable. If you need to stay overnight, you are entitled to accommodation, at the airlines expense,” Anton continued.
“If you are flying within the UK and EU, or with a UK or EU-based carrier and your flight is delayed by three hours or more, you could be due up to £520 compensation.
“Airlines often initially try to offer compensation in the form of vouchers. We suggest to our clients that they refuse vouchers and avoid signing agreements accepting vouchers as a form of compensation, as airlines may later try to use this kind of documentation to reject your claim. Bear in mind that passenger regulations require airlines to pay compensation in cash.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Punctuality of flights can be affected by a number of factors, most of which are outside of an airport’s control. These include inclement weather, airline crew shortages, delays to inbound flights, and even things like continental air traffic control issues including capacity restrictions and industrial action.
“As such, it is inherently misleading to passengers to imply a link between airports and delays – although periodically we do see companies doing this in order to promote themselves and sell particular products or services. In reality, passengers can feel assured that the vast majority of flights that leave Manchester Airport do so on time.”
A spokesperson for Stansted Airport echoed Manchester’s sentiments, adding: “In reality passengers can feel assured that the vast majority of flights that leave London Stansted do so on time, and with the fewest number of cancellations of any major airport in the south-east.”
Average delays on each flight in 2024
(January to November)
- Gatwick – 22 minutes
- Stansted – 19.5 minutes
- Manchester – 19.2 minutes
- Birmingham Airport – 18.9 minutes
- Luton – 18.2 minutes
- Heathrow – 18 minutes
- Cardiff – 18 minutes
- Bournemouth – 17.6 minutes
- Bristol – 17.4 minutes
- Newcastle – 16.3 minutes
- Edinburgh – 17 minutes
- Leeds Bradford – 15.5 minutes
- Southampton – 14.3 minutes
- Glasgow – 14.3 minutes
- Belfast International – 13.8 minutes
- Liverpool – 13 minutes
- London City – 13 minutes
- East Midlands – 12.8 minutes