Despite all the moving parts, our research highlights how airports and airlines work hard to keep flight delays to a minimum…
With the summer season approaching, many of us will be taking to booking sites in search of our next getaway.
Last year alone, Brits took over 1.9 million domestic flights, up 12.67% from 2022.
For some, travelling is a relaxing and cathartic experience, for others, lengthy delays and busy airports can result in a stressful start to a trip.
A YouGov report found that in the Summer of 2022, 60% of those planning to travel had little confidence in reaching their destinations without significant delays or cancellations.
With customers now having more options for providing feedback than ever before, customer satisfaction is paramount and it’s essential that should a flight be delayed or cancelled, passengers are notified as soon as possible, making a case for an automated SMS solution.
Passengers are used to having all the information they need at their fingertips, meaning airlines need to follow suit when it comes to disruption texts, whether that’s a change of gate or a flight delay. The likes of SMS landing pages help airlines like British Airways better communicate with passengers, should the unforeseen happen.
Which routes are most affected by delays?
To work out which flight routes passengers are most likely to encounter the most delays, our team got to work and took an indepth look at the numbers.
We analysed over 250 flight routes from 20 of the UK’s major airports, based on scheduled flights for the next month. Our team then chose one of the most commonly scheduled flight codes and used FlightRadar24 to analyse the average scheduled arrival time and actual arrival time of every completed flight over the past year, revealing which flight route suffers most from delays, or benefits from an early or on-time arrival.
The Delay to Departure Report found that the UK’s most delayed flight is from Leeds Bradford to Lawica, Poland (Poznan). With an average scheduled arrival time of 11:51 AM and an average actual arrival time of 12:27 PM, passengers face an average delay of 36 minutes.
UK passengers on longer haul flights can also expect delays with the second most delayed flight on average being Birmingham International to Dubai, with an average delay of 30 minutes.
Passengers in the Midlands keen for a weekend in Paris can also expect delays as the UK’s third most delayed flight route operates from East Midlands Airport to Paris – Orly Airport with an average delay of 28 minutes.
Top 50 Most Delayed Routes
Home Airport | Destination Airport | Airline | Flight Code | Average scheduled arrival | Average actual arrival | Time delayed |
Leeds Bradford Airport | Lawica – Poland | Ryanair | FR5606 | 11:51 | 12:27 | 0:36 |
Birmingham International Airport | Dubai – UAE | Emirates | EK40 | 0:39 | 1:09 | 0:30 |
East Midlands Airport | Orly – Paris | Eastern Airways | T3249 | 11:51 | 12:19 | 0:28 |
Edinburgh Airport | Belfast City – Northern Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI3653 | 12:10 | 12:37 | 0:27 |
Manchester Airport | Lisbon – Portugal | TAP Portugal | TP1311 | 10:49 | 11:14 | 0:25 |
London Gatwick | Milan Malpensa – Italy | easyJet | U28305 | 14:44 | 15:04 | 0:20 |
Bristol Airport | Guernsey – UK | Aurigyny Air Services | GR643 | 14:09 | 14:29 | 0:20 |
Bristol Airport | Edinburgh – Scotland | easyJet | U2219 | 19:20 | 19:39 | 0:19 |
Bristol Airport | Porto – Portugal | easyJet | U22875 | 17:24 | 17:42 | 0:18 |
Belfast International | Glasgow – Scotland | easyJet | U261 | 15:00 | 15:17 | 0:17 |
London Gatwick | Dublin – Ireland | Ryanair | FR113 | 11:05 | 11:22 | 0:17 |
Newcastle International Airport | Aberdeen – Scotland | Eastern Airways | T3724 | 18:03 | 18:20 | 0:17 |
London Gatwick | Geneva – Switzerland | easyJet | U28487 | 11:20 | 11:36 | 0:16 |
London Luton | Prague – Czech Republic | Wizz Air | W92602 | 14:08 | 14:24 | 0:16 |
Birmingham International Airport | Aberdeen – Scotland | Loganair | LM66 | 17:29 | 17:44 | 0:15 |
East Midlands Airport | Guernsey – UK | Aurigny Air Services | GR697 | 16:32 | 16:47 | 0:15 |
Glasgow Airport | Gatwick – England | easyJet | U2862 | 10:52 | 11:06 | 0:14 |
Edinburgh Airport | Dublin – Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI3251 | 9:29 | 9:42 | 0:13 |
Bristol Airport | Cork – Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI3843 | 17:19 | 17:32 | 0:13 |
Leeds Bradford Airport | Málaga Airport – Spain | Ryanair | FR2446 | 13:24 | 13:37 | 0:13 |
London Luton | Ben Gurion – Israel | easyJet | U22583 | 19:29 | 19:41 | 0:12 |
London Luton | Budapest – Hungary | Wizz Air | W62202 | 11:55 | 12:07 | 0:12 |
London Gatwick | Tenerife – Spain | easyJet | U28033 | 11:59 | 12:11 | 0:12 |
Glasgow Airport | Kirkwall – Scotland | Loganair | LM432 | 14:18 | 14:30 | 0:12 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Frankfurt – Germany | Lufthansa | LH969 | 16:56 | 17:07 | 0:11 |
London City Airport | Isle of Man – UK | LoganAir | LM678 | 20:02 | 20:13 | 0:11 |
Newcastle International Airport | Heathrow – England | British Airways | BA1335 | 18:04 | 18:14 | 0:10 |
London Stansted | Belfast International – Northern Ireland | Ryanair | U238 | 12:04 | 12:14 | 0:10 |
London Gatwick | Schiphol – Netherlands | easyJet | U28673 | 10:27 | 10:37 | 0:10 |
London Gatwick | El Prat Airport – Barcelona | Vueling | VY7831 | 12:22 | 12:32 | 0:10 |
Glasgow Airport | Islay – Scotland | Loganair | LM421 | 8:45 | 8:54 | 0:09 |
London Gatwick | Marrakesh – Morocco | easyJet | U28705 | 12:06 | 12:15 | 0:09 |
Belfast International | Stansted – England | easyJet | U241 | 16:19 | 16:28 | 0:09 |
London Gatwick | Glasgow – Scotland | easyJet | U2863 | 13:17 | 13:26 | 0:09 |
Manchester Airport | Belfast International – Northern Ireland | easyJet | U2707 | 20:54 | 21:03 | 0:09 |
London Gatwick | Istanbul – Turkey | Turkish Airlines | TK1982 | 16:55 | 17:03 | 0:08 |
Edinburgh Airport | Sumburgh – Scotland | Logan Air | LM353 | 9:26 | 9:35 | 0:08 |
London Heathrow | Lisbon – Portugal | TAP Portugal | TP1363 | 8:40 | 8:48 | 0:08 |
Birmingham International Airport | Geneva – Switzerland | easyJet | U21506 | 16:02 | 16:10 | 0:08 |
Bristol Airport | Lisbon – Portugal | easyJet | U22867 | 13:51 | 13:59 | 0:08 |
London Gatwick | Copenhagen – Denmark | Norwegian Air Intl | D83515 | 16:47 | 16:55 | 0:08 |
Manchester Airport | Alicante – Spain | easyJet | U22015 | 19:45 | 19:53 | 0:08 |
Belfast International | Luton – England | easyJet | U2630 | 10:04 | 10:12 | 0:08 |
London Gatwick | Edinburgh – Scotland | easyJet | U2807 | 10:06 | 10:14 | 0:08 |
London Stansted | Istanbul – Turkey | Pegasus | PC1162 | 19:25 | 19:33 | 0:08 |
Manchester Airport | Geneva – Switzerland | easyJet | U22185 | 13:42 | 13:50 | 0:08 |
Manchester Airport | Dublin – Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI203 | 9:10 | 9:17 | 0:07 |
Birmingham International Airport | Guernsey – UK | Aurigny Air Services | GR703 | 15:17 | 15:24 | 0:07 |
Belfast International | Schiphol – Netherlands | easyJet | U23051 | 16:35 | 16:42 | 0:07 |
London Luton | Sofia – Bulgaria | Wizz Air | W64302 | 13:47 | 13:54 | 0:07 |
Which routes are likely to arrive early?
The flight route where passengers are most likely to see an early arrival is from London Heathrow to Indira Gandhi International (Delhi). With an average scheduled arrival time of 9.08 PM and an actual average arrival time of 8:33 PM, passengers from the UK are often setting foot in Delhi 35 minutes earlier than planned.
Passengers from Belfast are also likely to touch down ahead of schedule as the UK’s joint-earliest arrival is from George Best Belfast City to Frankfurt, resulting in a 35-minute earlier arrival.
European short-hops continued to dominate the early arrival rankings as passengers on the Manchester to Prague route often benefit from landing 33 minutes early, while those on the Liverpool to Iasi (Romania) route will also touch down 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
Just one UK domestic route appeared in the top 10 early arrivals with passengers from Bristol to Belfast International enjoying an average earlier arrival of 16 minutes.
Top 50 Early Arrival Routes
Home Airport | Destination Airport | Airline | Flight Code | Average scheduled arrival | Average actual arrival | Time Arrived Early |
London Heathrow | Indira Gandhi International – India | Air India | AI162 | 21:08 | 20:33 | 0:35 |
George Best Belfast City Airport | Frankfurt – Germany | Lufthansa | LH1529 | 16:43 | 16:08 | 0:35 |
Manchester Airport | Prague – Czech Republic | Ryanair | FR6838 | 15:42 | 15:09 | 0:33 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Iasi – Romania | Wizz Air | W43698 | 12:47 | 12:26 | 0:21 |
London Stansted | Milan Malpensa – Italy | Ryanair | FR2757 | 13:23 | 13:03 | 0:20 |
Bristol Airport | Belfast International – Northern Ireland | easyJet | U22957 | 11:27 | 11:11 | 0:16 |
London Heathrow | Newark Liberty – New York | United Airlines | UA883 | 10:53 | 10:38 | 0:15 |
London Heathrow | JFK International – New York | British Airways | BA117 | 11:16 | 11:02 | 0:14 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Krakow – Poland | Ryanair | FR6360 | 14:12 | 13:58 | 0:14 |
London Heathrow | Dublin – Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI151 | 9:04 | 8:50 | 0:13 |
London Gatwick | Málaga Airport – Spain | easyJet | U28069 | 12:41 | 12:28 | 0:13 |
London Stansted | Milan Bergamo – Italy | Ryanair | FR2696 | 10:12 | 9:59 | 0:13 |
London Heathrow | Schiphol – Netherlands | British Airways | BA428 | 9:11 | 8:59 | 0:12 |
George Best Belfast City Airport | Manchester – England | Aer Lingus | EI3610 | 7:40 | 7:28 | 0:12 |
Manchester Airport | Belfast City – Northern Ireland | Aer Lingus | EI3611 | 9:33 | 9:21 | 0:12 |
London City Airport | Dublin – Ireland | British Airways | BA4472 | 19:08 | 18:56 | 0:12 |
Edinburgh Airport | London City – England | British Airways | BA8701 | 9:18 | 9:06 | 0:12 |
Glasgow Airport | London City – England | British Airways | BA8721 | 8:29 | 8:17 | 0:12 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Dublin – Ireland | Ryanair | FR441 | 7:35 | 7:24 | 0:11 |
East Midlands Airport | Wroclaw – Poland | Ryanair | FR916 | 16:50 | 16:39 | 0:11 |
Belfast International | Birmingham – England | easyJet | U225 | 8:04 | 7:53 | 0:11 |
London Luton | Iasi – Romania | Wizz Air Malta | W43652 | 14:25 | 14:14 | 0:11 |
London Heathrow | Frankfurt – Germany | Lufthansa | LH921 | 9:04 | 8:54 | 0:10 |
London Heathrow | Zurich – Switzerland | SWISS | LX345 | 8:40 | 8:30 | 0:10 |
London City Airport | Zurich – Switzerland | British Airways | BA8763 | 9:36 | 9:26 | 0:10 |
Glasgow Airport | Luton – England | easyJet | U2401 | 8:18 | 8:08 | 0:10 |
London City Airport | Billund – Denmark | British Airways | BA8212 | 21:05 | 20:55 | 0:10 |
Manchester Airport | El Prat Airport – Barcelona | Ryanair | FR7542 | 16:20 | 16:10 | 0:10 |
London Southend | Schiphol – Netherlands | easyJet | U22511 | 9:09 | 9:00 | 0:09 |
London Luton | Schiphol – Netherlands | easyJet | U22511 | 9:09 | 9:00 | 0:09 |
Leeds Bradford Airport | Katowice – Poland | Wizz Air | W61016 | 12:33 | 12:24 | 0:09 |
Belfast International | Manchester – England | easyJet | U2702 | 9:35 | 9:26 | 0:09 |
Newcastle International Airport | Dublin – Ireland | Ryanair | FR17 | 13:28 | 13:19 | 0:09 |
London Stansted | Vienna – Austria | Ryanair | FR730 | 13:23 | 13:15 | 0:08 |
London Luton | Cluj – Romania | Wizz Air Malta | W43302 | 13:10 | 13:02 | 0:08 |
Bristol Airport | Krakow – Poland | Ryanair | FR6221 | 15:00 | 14:52 | 0:08 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Belfast International – Northern Ireland | easyJet | U2501 | 9:27 | 9:19 | 0:08 |
East Midlands Airport | El Prat Airport – Barcelona | Ryanair | FR9388 | 13:27 | 13:20 | 0:07 |
Leeds Bradford Airport | Schiphol – Netherlands | KLM | KL1540 | 8:35 | 8:28 | 0:07 |
London City Airport | Belfast City – Northern Ireland | British Airways | BA8758 | 20:26 | 20:19 | 0:07 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Geneva – Switzerland | easyJet | U23461 | 10:04 | 9:57 | 0:07 |
Bristol Airport | El Prat Airport – Barcelona | easyJet | U22703 | 11:07 | 11:01 | 0:06 |
Edinburgh Airport | Belfast International – Northern Ireland | easyJet | U2327 | 8:21 | 8:14 | 0:06 |
Edinburgh Airport | Schiphol – Netherlands | KLM | KL1276 | 8:21 | 8:14 | 0:06 |
East Midlands Airport | Alicante – Spain | Ryanair | FR9085 | 11:34 | 11:28 | 0:06 |
George Best Belfast City Airport | Southampton – England | Aer Lingus | EI3602 | 9:00 | 8:54 | 0:06 |
East Midlands Airport | Tenerife – Spain | Ryanair | FR3152 | 11:51 | 11:45 | 0:06 |
Birmingham International Airport | Istanbul – Turkey | Turkish Airlines | TK1968 | 17:19 | 17:13 | 0:06 |
East Midlands Airport | Knock – Ireland | Ryanair | FR1742 | 12:07 | 12:01 | 0:06 |
Liverpool John Lennon Airport | Bucharest – Romania | Wizz Air | W43012 | 11:20 | 11:14 | 0:06 |
Which routes are bang on time?
London Airports dominate 10 of the 22 flight routes passengers are most likely to get to their destinations on time. Stansted to Portugal, London City to Berlin and Luton to Edinburgh are just a few flight routes passengers can expect a punctual arrival.
Passengers flying from Birmingham International Airport may also see an on-time arrival with flights to Belfast International, Malaga and Charles de Gaulle Paris all touching down on time.
Chris Gorman, Head of Professional Services at Esendex commented on the report:
“A delayed flight can cause a lot of anxiety, adding to an already stressful situation for many of us. Whether that’s impacting further travel plans once landed, or causing issues with accommodation, flight delays can cause havoc to travel itineraries.
“It’s vital that airlines have the right digital infrastructure in place to ensure passengers are kept up to date, with the correct information and crucially, to allow passengers to stay in contact with airlines as a solution is being sought.
“Ensuring processes like WhatsApp for Business, automated SMS solutions or SMS Landing pages are in place, will not only improve the customer service experience of the passengers but can also reduce the administrative challenges facing the airline too.”
Methodology
Esendex listed the most common flight routes and their flight codes based on upcoming scheduled flights at 20 major UK Airports using Flightsfrom.com.
Esendex then took the most commonly scheduled flight code and used FlightRadar24 to analyse every completed flight per flight code, over the past year, taking an average scheduled arrival time and an average actual arrival time. The resulting time difference then revealed whether a flight route was on average delayed, early or on time.
In total, Esendex analysed over 250 flight routes.