Bournemouth Airport ranks the best for no flight cancellations

Bournemouth Airport has ranked the best airport for no flight cancellations, according to latest data.

Analysis of the latest CAA data on flight delays and cancellations in September conducted by airline compensation specialist SkyRefund shows that Bournemouth had none of its planned 785 flights cancelled, just ahead of East Midlands International, which saw nine of 3065 flights cancelled.

Teesside International Airport ranked worst with 5.22% of its departures cancelled, narrowly ahead of Aberdeen airport with 5.19%.
Sixteen of the 306 flights from Teesside were cancelled; 124 of the 2386 flights from Aberdeen were cancelled.

Of the major London airports, Stansted fared best with just 0.44% of its departures cancelled (72 out of 15,897 flights), compared with Luton 0.91% (84 out of 9229 flights), Gatwick at 1.8% (463 out of 25,340 flights) and Heathrow at 2.75% (1095 out of 39,838 flights). London City fared worst of the London airports with 3.58% of departures cancelled – 144 out of the 4020 flights scheduled.

In terms of flights delayed Jersey airport fared worst for flights delayed between two and three hours (3.56% of flights – approximately 56 flights) ahead of Gatwick on 3.38% (approximately 858 flights). Gatwick was worst for flights delayed between three and six hours (1.38%) – an average of 37 minute delays across all flights, ahead of Jersey (1.14%), which experienced an average of 26 minute delays across all flights.
Southampton ranked worst for flights delayed in excess of six hours (0.32%) ahead of Gatwick (0.24%).

Ivaylo Danailov of SkyRefund said: “September 2024 was a mixed month for UK airports regarding punctuality, with significant differences in cancellations and delays among major airports. Larger airports with heavy traffic volumes, like Heathrow and Gatwick, are more vulnerable to delays due to sheer operational complexity. High passenger and flight volumes increase the likelihood of bottlenecks, and minor disruptions can have a ripple effect. Smaller airports like Bournemouth and Southend, with fewer flights, have more streamlined operations and less congestion, leading to fewer delays.

“In the UK, air passenger rights ensure that travellers are protected in cases of flight delays, cancellations, or denied boarding. Under UK law, passengers may be entitled to assistance, refunds, or compensation depending on the length of the delay or notice given for a cancellation.

“Always save the receipts for any expenses made during the flight disruption and don’t discard your travel documents. And remember, airlines are not obliged to proactively offer you compensation – you have to make a compensation request in order to get a payout. In the UK, the time limit for claiming compensation is six years.”