New study reveals UK airports with the longest departure delays
A new study has analysed data from the UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to reveal the top 25 UK airports with the longest average departure delays.
Flight punctuality data was looked at between January 2022 and November 2024, and 2024’s data was compared to 2023 to see whether the average delay has increased or decreased.
The study revealed that the Isle of Man Airport experiences the longest average departure delay, lasting around 32 minutes and four seconds. The airport is one of the smallest on the list and reported just over 652,000 passengers last year. Despite having the longest average delay over the three years assessed, between 2023 and 2024 the airport saw a 41% reduction in delays – from 40 minutes and 10 seconds in 2023 down to 23 minutes and 52 seconds in 2024.
Gatwick Airport came second on the list with an average delay of 25 minutes and 46 seconds. As the second-largest airport in the UK, handling over 40 million passengers a year, long delays can significantly disrupt many people’s travel plans. In 2023, the average delay was 27 minutes and 17 seconds, decreasing by 12% in 2024 to 23 minutes and 52 seconds.
In third place came Southend Airport, which has remained with an average delay of around 24 minutes for the last couple of years. It was the only airport in the top 10 of the list to report an increase in wait times, 16% between 2023 and 2024, but that could be due in part to the airport witnessing a 93% passenger increase from 2023.
Ranking in fourth and fifth place were Birmingham and Manchester airports, respectively. Birmingham Airport is the seventh largest in the UK and experienced an average departure delay of 22 minutes 46 seconds.
Manchester Airport’s average delay was 22 minutes and four seconds. As the UK’s largest airport outside London, it was also one of the busiest airports in the country, handling more than 30 million passengers by September of 2024, but still it experienced a 12% drop in average delay times between 2023 and 2024.
Heathrow ranked just below the top 10, in eleventh place with an average delay of 20 minutes and 45 seconds, although between 2023 and 2024 it saw a 15% decrease, dropping to 18 minutes and 29 seconds. Heathrow reported 79.2 million passengers in 2023, making it the busiest airport in the UK and with the expected approval of a third runway expansion, these figures are expected to rise again in the future.
Ranking further down the list was Glasgow Airport with average delays of 17 minutes 40 seconds, London City Airport with 16 minutes 20 seconds, and completing the Top 25 was East Midlands International Airport with average delays of 14 minutes 46 seconds.
Viorel Stan, chief executive of casino analysts SlotsCalendar who completed the study, said of the findings: “One thing is certain: passengers want delays to be minimised. Starting or ending a holiday abroad with a delay can put a damper on the experience, and it is in the airlines’ best interests to avoid this. Of course, some factors, such as bad weather, are beyond their control, but each airport has a duty to ensure passengers are well cared for in such events and to remove any unnecessary barriers to smooth travel.”
Commenting on Heathrow’s future, Stan said: “With news of Heathrow’s third runway potentially opening – though not for at least a decade if plans proceed – many visitors will be curious about the impact on passengers. Will delays increase, both at security and at the flight level? How will local residents react?… There are many questions surrounding this development, and it will be interesting to see how the government and the airport collaborate to ensure all parties are satisfied.”