The UK airports where you’re least likely to be delayed in 2024 named

Have you ever had your luggage lost or a delayed flight? Well, we have been there when it comes to travelling.

By Chloe Dobinson, Lifestyle Reporter

British Airways Airbus A380 at London Heathrow airport

There's nothing worse than airport delays (Image: Getty)

On Tuesday night, British Airways left passengers stranded on planes and massive queues of travellers spread across the airport.

Struggling to find their luggage, travellers were forced to travel without their clothes and faced huge delays to try and get their possessions back due to a technical issue at Terminal 5.

But have you ever been delayed at an airport when travelling?

Well, it turns out some UK airports are more likely to experience a delay than others. Every month there are over 165,000 flights in the UK.

So, it is no wonder some Britons experience delays when it comes to flying for business or leisure.

The name sign and facade of Birmingham Airport building.

Birmingham Airport scored well in the research (Image: Getty)

With the average delay time across all airports hitting 26 minutes, experts at Netflights have revealed the airports where you’re most likely to depart on time and not be delayed ahead of the peak holiday season.

So, where should you be flying from for your next holiday?

The 10 airports where you’re most likely to have an on-time flight

  1. Birmingham Airport 
  2. Gatwick 
  3. Luton 
  4. Stansted 
  5. Belfast International 
  6. Edinburgh 
  7. Heathrow 
  8. London City 
  9. Manchester
  10. Aberdeen

For those living in and around Birmingham, you’re less likely to experience delays if you're flying to this airport in 2024.

With seven percent of flights on time, Birmingham is the best location to fly from. Domestic flights to Belfast City, and internationally, Craiova, Romania are the routes highly likely to be on time.

Meanwhile, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted Airports, all located in London, tie for second place. 6.9 percent of flights from these airports take off as scheduled and you’re less likely to be delayed from these departure locations - especially if you’re heading to Belfast City, Madrid, Cancun, City of Derry or Dortmund.

Netflights also found that flights to Spain were the most likely to be on time, however, being one of the most popular destinations for Brits means there are more flights to the country as a whole.

Researchers found that Virgin Atlantic is the most punctual airline of large international carriers, while flights to Heathrow are the most likely to be cancelled.

Finally, flights to Belfast City are the most likely domestic flights to be on time – a reported 20 percent of flights were on time while flights to smaller, less popular destinations are also most likely to be ahead of schedule, such as flights to the Shetland Islands.

Would you like to receive news notifications from Daily Express?