Manchester Airport Tops Delay Rankings With 19.5-Minute Average — Manchester Airport Flight Delay Data
Manchester airport flight delay data shows Manchester Airport had the UK’s longest average departing-flight delay, at 19-and-a-half minutes, in Civil Aviation Authority data analysed by the Press Association. The ranking covered scheduled and chartered departures from 23 commercial UK airports with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year.
For passengers, the headline figure is the delay average itself. Manchester’s result was 30 seconds better than the previous year, but it still finished worst among the airports in the analysis.
Andrew Bell on airport control
Andrew Bell, chief executive of Regional and City Airports, said the statistics are “pretty high level and generally don't take into account most of the things that are outside of an airport's control”. He also said that if a flight is two, three-plus hours long, a 15-minute delay “probably isn't going to disrupt your journey plans that significantly”.
That position sits alongside the way the rankings were built: the analysis did not include cancellations. It also used a broad airport sample rather than a small group of major hubs, which makes Manchester’s place at the bottom more specific to outbound performance across the wider UK airport market.
Bournemouth Airport and passenger volume
Bournemouth Airport ranked third worst, with an average delay of 17 minutes 18 seconds per departing flight. A spokesman for the airport said the reason for delays was outside its control in the majority of cases, and the airport recently reported its best ever year and a 26% rise in passengers to 1,395,783 as of the end of March.
That leaves a sharp contrast in the data: a strong passenger year for Bournemouth, but a delay average still near the top of the table. The ranking also places Manchester ahead of every other airport in the analysis, even after a year-on-year improvement.
Anna Bowles and passenger help
Anna Bowles, CAA head of consumer, said delays have a “real impact for people heading off on holidays” and urged the aviation industry to stay “focused on delivering punctual and reliable journeys for passengers wherever possible”.
Passengers booked on delayed flights from UK airports may be entitled to assistance such as food and drink and overnight accommodation if required. For travellers facing disruption, the immediate practical step is to check what help applies to their booking before they leave for the airport.
