Which UK airports are worst for flight delays?

Wednesday 13 July 2022

With the summer holidays approaching, many islanders are preparing to jet set... At which UK airports might they face the greatest delays?

Analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data by PA showed that the UK’s seventh busiest airport, Birmingham, ranked as the worst, with each flight being on average 12 minutes and 24 seconds late.

Offering long-haul flights to popular tourist destinations including Dubai, the US, the Caribbean and Mexico, the airport can be used by Jersey residents for connecting flights.

In total, 24 airports appear on the list, and 15 of these airports have links to Jersey.

Birmingham Airport was followed closely by another airport with links to Jersey - Southampton Airport, where flights delays averaged 12 minutes.

Pictured: The UK’s seventh busiest airport, Birmingham, ranked as the worst.

Officials explained that, last year, the airport "was reduced to just 25% of normal resource and capacity due to covid". However, they noted: "Due to the unique operating environment caused by massive air traffic reductions, the usual pressures did not exist, so flights taking off late were able to catch up en route."

Other airports appearing high on the delays list with direct flight links to Jersey include Heathrow, Exeter, Luton and Manchester.

Last month, Grant Shapps, the UK Transport Secretary, launched a 22-point plan to tackle flight disruption. The plan encouraged airlines to make sure their schedules are "deliverable".

The full list...

Here is the full list of the UK airports with the longest average delays for departures, with average delay in brackets.

Taken into account are all scheduled and chartered departures - not including cancellations:

1. Birmingham (12 minutes and 24 seconds)

2. Southampton (12 minutes)

3. Heathrow (11 minutes and 48 seconds)

4. Exeter (11 minutes and 12 seconds)

5. Aberdeen (10 minutes and 36 seconds)

6. Doncaster Sheffield (10 minutes and 18 seconds)

7. Luton (9 minutes and 42 seconds)

8. Manchester (9 minutes and 30 seconds)

9. Glasgow (8 minutes and 30 seconds)

10. Leeds Bradford (7 minutes and 42 seconds)

11. Newcastle (7 minutes and 24 seconds)

12. Bournemouth (7 minutes and 18 seconds)

13. Edinburgh (7 minutes and 12 seconds)

14. Liverpool (John Lennon) (7 minutes and 6 seconds)

15. Cardiff (6 minutes and 48 seconds)

16. London City (6 minutes and 12 seconds)

17. Bristol (6 minutes and 6 seconds)

18. Stansted (6 minutes)

19. East Midlands International (6 minutes)

20. Gatwick (5 minutes and 54 seconds)

21. Belfast City (George Best) (4 minutes and 54 seconds)

22. Teesside International (4 minutes and 48 seconds)

23. Belfast International (4 minutes and 30 seconds)

24. Southend (4 minutes and 30 seconds)