No UK airport recorded an average delay time of shorter than 13 minutes (Picture: wtxnews.co.uk)
Birmingham Airport has been ranked the worst in the UK for the length of its flight delays, for the second year in a row.
Last year, passengers travelling through the airport had to wait an average of half an hour after their flight’s scheduled departure time for it to finally take off, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.
That average delay is almost twice as long as 2021, when the West Midlands airport – the seventh busiest in the country – also placed last.
Jointly taking second place in the rankings were Doncaster Sheffield, which closed in November last year, and Manchester.
Both recorded average delays of 29 minutes.
The airport with the shortest average flight delay, meanwhile, is just a relatively short drive from the one with the longest.
East Midlands Airport, south of Nottingham and Derby, clocked an average time of 13 minutes – still not ideal if you’re the person waiting to board, but much better than elsewhere.
Across all British airports, the average delay was 23 minutes.
Birmingham Airport is now ‘running smoothly’ after pandemic-related disruption, a spokesman said (Picture: Heritage Images via Getty Images)
A Birmingham Airport spokesman said: ‘The start of 2022 was devastated by Covid.
‘After travel restrictions were lifted, the aviation industry fought hard to recover.
‘This year, the first since 2020 not impacted by Covid, our airport is running smoothly with customers set to equal or exceed pre-pandemic numbers.
‘Customers using Birmingham airport this summer can expect changes to walking routes as we build our £40 million new security hall, set to be ready for June 2024.’
The two airports on the list from Northern Ireland faired relatively well, with Belfast International ranking 21st and Belfast City coming joint 22nd out of 26.
Scotland’s three airports came joint seventh (Edinburgh), joint 10th (Aberdeen) and joint 15th (Glasgow), while Cardiff joined Edinburgh in seventh place as Wales’s only entry on the list.
The full list: Where does your nearest airport rank?
1. Birmingham (30 minutes)
=2. Manchester (29 minutes)
=2. Doncaster Sheffield (29 minutes)
4. Luton (28 minutes)
5. Gatwick (27 minutes)
6. Bristol (26 minutes)
=7. Cardiff (24 minutes)
=7. Edinburgh (24 minutes)
9. Heathrow (22 minutes)
=10. Newcastle (21 minutes)
=10. Isle of Man (21 minutes)
=10. Aberdeen (21 minutes)
=13. Leeds Bradford (20 minutes)
=13. Southend (20 minutes)
=15. Glasgow (19 minutes)
=15. Stansted (19 minutes)
=15. Southampton (19 minutes)
=15. Bournemouth (19 minutes)
=19. London City (17 minutes)
=19. Jersey (17 minutes)
21. Belfast International (16 minutes)
=22. Liverpool John Lennon (15 minutes)
=22. Belfast City (15 minutes)
=24. Exeter (14 minutes)
=24. Teesside (14 minutes)
26. East Midlands (13 minutes)