The Best and Worst Airlines and Airports for Delays in the UK

Whether you’re a frequent flyer or travel on occasion, you’ve likely experienced the frustration of a flight being delayed or worse, cancelled. In fact, Google searches for ‘flight compensation’ have increased by 64% over the last year alone in the UK.

In an effort to avoid frustration before your long-awaited holiday or business trip, a new study by MoneyTransfers.com reveals the best airlines and airports to avoid delays based on analysing the latest 2023 flight delay data across the UK.

Top 5 airports with the highest and lowest number of delayed flights

Gatwick Airport is revealed to have the highest number of flight delays among all UK airports from April to June 2023, with a whopping 74.1% of flights taking off experiencing delays. Additionally, the airport also saw a 12.5% rise in the number of flights being delayed from April to June 2023. The most popular destinations from Gatwick include Barcelona, Malaga, Dublin and Faro with 12-14 flights leaving to these destinations every day - so travellers flying to these areas may need to be prepared for potential delays.

Bournemouth airport is the second-worst for delays in the UK (73.6% of flights delayed) with popular destinations including Spanish locations Palma de Mallorca, Malaga and Alicante. Newcastle Airport (73.6% of flights delayed), Bristol (72.5% of flights delayed) and a second London airport Stansted (70.2% of flights delayed) follow in the top 5 worst airports for delays.

When analysing the airports with the least delayed flights in 2023, Belfast City Airport ranked first with less than half (46.3%) of flights experiencing delays from April to June 2023. Despite this, the airport did still see an increase in the number of delayed flights over the spring period - growing by 14%.

Exeter follows as the second-best airport with the least delays, with just over half (53.6%) of flights experiencing setbacks. Southampton (54%), Teesside International Airport (56%) and Isle of Man (56.1%) follow in the top 5 best airports.

If any of these airports are relatively commutable for you and you’re planning your next holiday abroad, popular locations from these airports include - Amsterdam (Teesside has 1-3 flights per day), Mallorca (Southampton has 2 flights per day), and Malaga (Exeter has 1 flight per day).

Top 5 airports with the longest and shortest delays

While any delay before your upcoming flight can be frustrating - which UK airports are notorious for experiencing the longest delays?

The Isle of Man airport is the worst airport in the UK for the longest time a flight is delayed on average - with travellers waiting over 33 minutes. On the mainland, alongside being the airport with the highest percentage of delayed flights, Gatwick has the second-highest average delay time with flights stalling for just over 27 minutes.

Bournemouth (25.43 mins), Luton (25.03 mins) and Bristol (22.37 mins) follow in the top 3 worst airports for the longest delays.

Notably, of the airports above - Gatwick, Luton and Bristol airports are also seeing an increasing trend in the average delay time by 16.61 mins, 7.27 mins, and 7 mins respectively from April to June 2023.

Analysing the airports with the shortest delay times in the UK - Belfast City travellers can expect to wait an average of 12.08 mins for the flights that are delayed from the airport (46.3%). Exeter Airport follows, with an average delay of 12.36 mins - just a few seconds longer than Belfast City Airport.

Teesside International Airport (13.72 mins), London City Airport (14.62 mins) and Liverpool John Lennon Airport (15.54 mins) follow in the top 5 best airports with the least amount of time for flight delays.

Top 5 airports for early flights

While flight delays are bound to happen in any airport - it can also be useful to know the airports that often have flights arriving earlier at your destination than expected!

According to the analysis, Belfast City airport travellers enjoy both the shortest delays and earliest arrival times, with almost 1 in 2 flights arriving earlier than anticipated (49.97%). In fact, four of the five airports with the highest number of early flights arriving also feature in the top 5 airports with the least delays (Belfast City, Exeter (43.37% early flights), Southampton (42.63%), and Teesside International (42.1%)).

Southend makes its first top 5 appearance with over two-fifths (41.57%) of flights departing from the airport reaching destinations earlier than expected.

Top 5 airlines with the highest and lowest number of delayed flights

While understanding which airports face the most delays can indicate what to expect, ultimately the airline that you fly with can also have an impact on the type of service you can anticipate during frustrating pre-departure situations. So which airlines are the best and worst for delays?

For Brits jetting off to destinations like Cape Town or Nairobi, you may want to think twice before booking with Kenya Airways, as it’s officially the airline with the highest percentage of delayed flights from the UK. According to the study, almost 9 in 10 flights setting off face delays (89.97%) with Kenya airlines. This is based on analysing the last 50 flights registered taking off in the latest 3 months of records.

Uzbekistan Airlines follows as the second worst airline for delays, with a similar number of flights delayed as Kenya Airways (87.18%). Two European airlines follow in the top 3 and 4 worst for delayed flights - Air Malta (86.06% of flights delayed) and Croatia Airlines (85.99% of flights delayed).

Want to reduce your chances of booking a delayed flight? Air Europa is officially the best airline to fly with from the UK to avoid delays, with just under one in five flights facing delays (19.37%). Popular destinations to fly to with this airline include Madrid, Barcelona, Miami, Cancun and more.

Flying to Europe or the Mediterranean? Transavia France is the second-best airline for the lowest number of delayed flights - with just under one-quarter of flights experiencing delays over the latest 3 months of flight data (24.57%).

Air Baltic (32.39%), Titan Airways (33.84%), and Sky Express (35.85%) follow in the top 5 best airlines for minimal delays in the UK.

Top 5 airlines with the shortest and longest delayed flights

If you’re planning a trip to east and/or south-east Asia, Tianjin Airlines is the worst airline to travel with for average flight delay times from the UK. Travelling with the airline on a delayed flight means that on average you’ll be delayed by 174.33 minutes or almost 3 hours by the time you reach your destination. Hainan Airlines comes second with flights delayed for an average of 91.8 minutes or just over an hour and a half.

Surprisingly, the second most popular airline in the UK, Virgin Atlantic International Airlines ranks 3rd for the longest average delay time at 74.88 mins. Yet as the name suggests, the airline mostly accommodates international flights to and from the US, Africa, Asia and the Caribbean.

Luxair, and Nouvelair Tunisie also rank in the top 5 worst airlines for delay times, at an average of 71.94 mins and 59.42 mins respectively.

For travellers determined to ensure punctuality, fly with Sun Air of Scandinavia, as the airline has the shortest average delay time of just 2.8 mins. Based on the study, this is 171.53 minutes less than the airline with the longest average delay time in the UK! This being said you may find the number of destinations you can fly to with Sun-Air a tad minimal - as they only fly to Billund (the birthplace of Lego) and Gothenburg via Billund.

Azerbaijan Airlines follows as the second best (at an average of 3.38 mins for delays), with popular destinations including Istanbul, Moscow, Dubai and more. Iberia (4.11 mins), Wideroe (4.43), and Fly Play HF airlines (4.47 mins) follow in the top 5 best airlines with the shortest delay times from the UK.

Top 5 airlines for early flights

When considering the most punctual airlines, Fly Play HF has the highest percentage of flights landing earlier than expected with only two in five flights not arriving early (42.4%). Aviana Colombia follows as the second-best airline with over half (56.55%) of its flights landing early.

Etihad, the 9th most popular airline in the UK, is the third best airline for landing early with 53.65 of flights landing early. Tata SIA and the Isles of Scilly airlines also feature in the top 5 best airlines, with flights that land early making up 53.65% to 48.61% of flights taking off within the latest 3 months' worth of flight data.

Our study reveals that the number of flights with delays is increasing across UK airports to alarming figures as high as almost 3 in 4 flights being delayed on average. Ultimately, we’re seeing that delayed travel is becoming an inevitable aspect of the average Brit’s travel experience.

However, our study also reveals that as a jet-setter, there are a few airports such as Belfast City and Exeter Airport, and airlines such as Air Europa or Transavia France that offer a better chance of setting off to your destination on time.

With millions of Brits going on holidays abroad every year, it's clear there is still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to improving the infrastructure and services offered by airports and airlines in the UK - to ultimately provide a smoother travel experience for travelling Brits across the UK.

Jonathan Merry, CEO of MoneyTransfers.com