Cliff Notes – Britain’s 10 worst airports for flight delays
- Gatwick Airport has been named the worst UK airport for flight delays for the second consecutive year, with average delays of 23 minutes in 2024, an improvement from nearly 27 minutes in 2023.
- The airport faced air traffic control disruptions due to staffing shortages caused by the pandemic but has a plan to enhance operations in 2025, including new methods for aircraft coordination.
- Despite its delays, Gatwick remains the world’s most efficient single-runway airport, with departures and arrivals scheduled every 55 seconds.
Ranked: Britain’s 10 worst airports for flight delays | UK News
Gatwick is the UK’s worst airport for flight delays for the second year running, according to new data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
After suffering from continued air traffic control (ATC) disruptions, departures from the West Sussex airport were delayed by more than 23 minutes on average in 2024.
In 2023, its flights were delayed by nearly 27 minutes – so the airport, which is the UK’s second busiest, has seen an improvement.
A spokesperson said the airport had a “robust plan” to improve things further in 2025, including a new method to separate arriving aircraft, and trialling the co-ordination of connecting jet bridges to planes remotely.
They said Gatwick remains “the world’s most efficient single-runway airport, with flights departing or arriving every 55 seconds”.
Gatwick was badly impacted by ATC staff shortages both in Europe and in its own control tower last year, which a 2024 report by the Royal Aeronautical Society suggested may be in part due to the pandemic.
It said staffing was reduced because of a downturn in traffic during lockdowns, and recruiting and training new ATC workers can take up to three years.
Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership, a network of independent travel agents, said passengers should expect better than “stuck in terminals” for hours “with little information or support”.
UK’s top ten worst airports for delays – ranked
10 – Cardiff Airport
Cardiff had average delays of 17 minutes and 36 seconds.
9 – Luton Airport
Luton recorded average delays of 17 minutes and 42 seconds in 2024.
That was an improvement on the year before, with the airport recording delays of nearly 23 minutes in 2023.
8 – Bournemouth Airport
Bournemouth also saw an improvement.
Despite recording average delays of 17 minutes and 48 seconds, it saw around a two-and-a-half minute improvement on the year before.
7 – Edinburgh Airport
Scotland’s busiest airport had average delays of 18 minutes and six seconds in 2024.
That was an improvement of nearly three-and-a-half minutes from the 12 months previous.
6 – Exeter Airport
Exeter, on the other hand, saw growing delays in 2024.
Last year’s data showed average delays of 15 minutes and 42 seconds at the airport.
In 2024, that figure jumped to 19 minutes.
5 – Teesside International Airport
Teesside also recorded longer delays of around two minutes on average.
In 2024, its departing flights were delayed by an average of 19 minutes and six seconds.
4 – Stansted Airport
Stansted recorded average delays of 19 minutes and 36 seconds in 2024, a 30-second increase on the previous year.
3 – Manchester Airport
The UK’s third-busiest airport came third on the list with average delays of 20 minutes last year.
In 2023, its delays were longer by nearly two minutes.
2 – Birmingham Airport
Birmingham saw delays of 21 minutes and 18 seconds.
Despite moving up the list, it improved its delay time by 12 seconds on the year before.
1 – Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport recorded delays of 23 minutes and 18 seconds, an improvement of over three minutes and 36 seconds.
At the other end of the table…
Belfast City airport recorded the best punctuality in the UK for the second year in a row.
Its typical delay per flight was less than 12 minutes.
The average delay for flights from major UK airports was 18 minutes and 24 seconds in 2024, down from 20 minutes and 42 seconds in 2023.
“Aviation continues to recover from the pandemic, and operates in an extremely busy, global environment with resilience challenges,” said a spokesperson for trade body AirportsUK.
“It is therefore positive that the data shows delays continue to come down as everyone in aviation works together to provide the best possible service to passengers.”