The most delayed airports of 2019 revealed

Date: 9 DEC 19

Flight delays and cancellations are an inevitable part of air travel, despite advances in aircraft design and reliability, modernisation of airports and air traffic control sometimes a flight is just cancelled right?

Not necessarily - our research has shown that some airports seem to top the list when it comes to delays and cancellations more than others regardless of the airline. Airline hubs and popular destinations are expected to feature high up on the list.

Lets delve into the figures a little more:

Top 5 most delayed UK Airports

1. London Heathrow (456 delays over 3 hours/cancellations)

2. London Gatwick (283 delays over 3 hours/cancellations)

3. Manchester Airport (126 delays over 3 hours/cancellations)

4. London Stansted (86 delays over 3 hours/cancellations)

5. Birmingham International (72 delays over 3 hours/cancellations)

No surprises to see Heathrow at the top of the list as it serves as the main hub for British Airways which has suffered badly this year with strike action as well as IT glitches galore. Our data shows that at around 5-10 flights a day are delayed or cancelled either flying to or from London Heathrow. Hot on its heels with half as many delays is London Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.

Top 10 most delayed European Airports

1. Amsterdam 

2. Barcelona

3. Zurich

4. Munich

5. Charles De Gaulle (Paris)

6. Dublin

7. Frankfurt

8. Geneva

9 Stockholm

10. Madrid

As you can see there is a direct correlation to how popular a destination is to how many times flights to that city are delayed. Amsterdam and Barcelona are extremely popular destinations with most of the major European airlines flying there. Munich and Frankfurt serve as hubs for Lufthansa and British Airways under codeshare agreements - seems that German efficiency doesn't spread as far as airlines when it comes to delayed flights and cancellations.

Top 5 delayed international airports

1. Islamabad

2. John F Kennedy

3. Newark Liberty 

4. Lahore Airport

5. Boston Logan

6. Los Angeles

7. Johannesburg

8. Toronto 

9. Philadelphia

10. Dubai and Chicago

Islamabad until recently was only served by Pakistan Airlines (PIA) and their reputation for delays and cancellations is well known in the flight delay community. An ageing fleet, poor maintenance record and shocking customer service only add to the misery for passengers from the UK to Pakistan. So bad is their timekeeping that a website was set up to ONLY deal with PIA delays to service disgruntled passengers who until recently have accepted delays and cancellations for too long. You can find it here. Again the more popular a destination the more likely there will be delays and New York always features highly on our claims list. Both JFK and Newark, both serviced by British Airways coincidentally, encounter more delays than other US cities.