Delays have decreased: airports in the United Kingdom where planes are most frequently delayed

At most UK airports, delays were shorter on average in 2023 compared to the previous year. Aberdeen Airport had the longest delays in the UK, with an average delay of 20.70 minutes.

Third place was taken by Gatwick Airport, where delays averaged 15.47 minutes, increasing to 24.31 minutes in December. Gatwick Airport also had the highest percentage of delayed flights in December - 74.1%, as reported by Simpleflying.

While the situation at UK airports has undoubtedly improved after the significant disruptions experienced in recent years, passengers still face significant delays at some airports. Four of the ten largest UK airports with the longest delays in 2023 were in the London area, although the worst airport was in Scotland.

Longest Delays at Aberdeen Airport

Aberdeen Airport (ABZ) experienced the longest delays of any UK airport in 2023, with an average delay of 20.70 minutes, rising to 26.04 minutes in December, according to Tripplo.com research based on data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the latest CAA data. The airport's annual average is more than 25% higher than the next airport on the list, Isle of Man Airport (IOM), where the average delay was 16.22 minutes.

Third on the list is London Gatwick Airport (LGW), with an average delay of 15.47 minutes, although in December this figure increased to 24.31 minutes. This airport outperformed the other three London-area airports that made the list, with Luton (LTN) coming in fifth with an average delay of 13.58 minutes and Heathrow (LHR) coming in sixth with an almost identical 13.56 minutes. London Stansted (STN) took tenth place with an average delay of 12.43 minutes.

Axel Hernborg, founder of Tripplo.com, comments,

"While flight delays are never ideal, you're likely to experience them at some point, especially if you're a frequent flyer. That said, it's interesting to see the big difference in the length of delays at individual UK airports, and it's also worth seeing if this correlates with the number of canceled flights at each of these airports. With the summer holidays approaching, it's also worth looking to see if the number of canceled flights we've seen across the UK in recent years continues."

Although air travel in the UK was much better in 2023 compared to the previous year, it was not without incidents. One such case was the nationwide failure of the UK air traffic control system in the summer, which led to thousands of cancellations and huge delays that inevitably resulted in flight delays.

Comparing the data from 2023 to 2022, the situation has definitely improved for most airports. In 2022, Birmingham Airport (BHX) was the worst in terms of delays with an average delay of 30 minutes, followed by Manchester (MAN) and Doncaster (DSA) (29 minutes), Luton (28 minutes), and Gatwick (27 minutes).

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