Gatwick and Stansted airports person been named arsenic worst UK airports for delayed flights successful 2024
New investigation of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) statistic by formation compensation experts AirAdvisor revealed the large UK airports wherever passengers experienced the longest delays to their flights successful 2024. Looking astatine CAA information from January 2024 to November shows the mean hold to flights astatine Gatwick and Stansted each period regularly exceeded 25 minutes.
Manchester, Luton, Birmingham, Heathrow and Bristol airports were adjacent successful the rankings, with mean delays to flights crossed 2024 hitting implicit 18 minutes. At the different extremity of the table, mean delays astatine Liverpool, London City and East Midlands airports were beneath 13 minutes.
On its website, the CAA states that unforeseen events specified arsenic terrible upwind conditions, method issues, oregon different bonzer circumstances beyond airports and airlines power whitethorn interaction formation schedules. These disruptions bash not needfully bespeak the semipermanent show oregon reliability of the hose oregon airport, arsenic a spokesperson for Gatwick Airport argued was the case.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, said: “2024 was by nary means a straightforward twelvemonth for airports and carriers. The planetary IT outage successful July resulted successful worldwide question chaos, causing wide delays and cancellations astatine airports crossed the world. The CAA’s information suggest that the mean hold times astatine Gatwick and Stansted airports surged to 35 minutes successful July, a sizeable spike successful examination to their yearly averages of astir 20 minutes.
“Airports are inactive navigating a post-Covid question roar which is seeing much radical alert than ever before, with caller routes launching connected a regular ground and airports becoming busier arsenic a result. At highest times, similar the August schoolhouse holidays, much planes leaving the tarmac makes delays and cancellations much likely."
August was a peculiarly hard period for Gatwick and Stansted, with the mean hold times accrued to 32 and 26 minutes, respectively.
In June, Manchester Airport experienced a powerfulness chopped which it said caused wide disruption to a important fig of flights. In the CAA statistics, the mean hold clip for the period of June roseate to 27 minutes, compared to its 2024 mean of 19.2 minutes.
The aforesaid month, disorder surrounding liquid restrictions led to lengthy delays astatine Birmingham Airport - the CAA’s information shows mean delays jumped to 25 minutes - crossed the full reporting period. The mean hold clip was lone 18.6 minutes.
“Fortunately, determination is authorities successful spot that protects aerial passengers and entitles them to compensation erstwhile flights are delayed. If your formation is delayed by implicit 2 hours, your hose indispensable supply you with nutrient and portion vouchers to marque your clip astatine the airdrome much comfortable. If you request to enactment overnight, you are entitled to accommodation, astatine the airlines expense," Anton continued.
“If you are flying wrong the UK and EU, oregon with a UK oregon EU-based bearer and your formation is delayed by 3 hours oregon more, you could beryllium owed up to £520 compensation.
"Airlines often initially effort to connection compensation successful the signifier of vouchers. We suggest to our clients that they garbage vouchers and debar signing agreements accepting vouchers arsenic a signifier of compensation, arsenic airlines whitethorn aboriginal effort to usage this benignant of documentation to cull your claim. Bear successful caput that rider regulations necessitate airlines to wage compensation successful cash.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Punctuality of flights tin beryllium affected by a fig of factors, astir of which are extracurricular of an airport’s control. These see inclement weather, hose unit shortages, delays to inbound flights, and adjacent things similar continental aerial postulation power issues including capableness restrictions and concern action.
“As such, it is inherently misleading to passengers to connote a nexus betwixt airports and delays – though periodically we bash spot companies doing this successful bid to beforehand themselves and merchantability peculiar products oregon services. In reality, passengers tin consciousness assured that the immense bulk of flights that permission Manchester Airport bash truthful connected time.”
A Gatwick Airport spokesperson added: "It is usually the effect of circumstances beyond the airport’s power specified arsenic unforeseen events similar terrible upwind conditions, method issues with airline’s craft oregon their crushed handlers/air postulation control
"As it says connected the CAA website - these disruptions bash not needfully bespeak the semipermanent show oregon reliability of the hose oregon airport. Inevitably bigger airports grip much flights truthful apt to person much delayed and cancelled flights arsenic a result. Writing an nonfiction that blames the airports for delays lacks discourse and is misleading."
Average delays connected each formation successful 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