Departures had been on common almost 20 minutes not on time final 12 months.
Departures had been on common almost 20 minutes not on time final 12 months (Picture: Getty)
The UK’s worst airports for flight delays have been ranked, with one main hub popping out on prime for all of the mistaken causes. Manchester Airport (MAN) has been named the worst within the nation for delays, based on evaluation of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) information by the Press Affiliation.
The findings have prompted a warning that passengers might battle to ebook flights from the airport “with any actual confidence”. Departures from the UK’s third busiest airport had been operating a median of 19-and-a-half minutes late in 2025. Though this marked a slight enchancment of 30 seconds over the earlier 12 months, it was nonetheless worse than every other UK airport. Flight disruption is commonly brought on by components past airports’ direct management, together with air site visitors management points and opposed climate. Nevertheless, the figures spotlight ongoing considerations for travellers.
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Manchester Airport is the UK’s third-busiest airport however had delays of 19.5 minutes on common (Picture: Getty)
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Journey, mentioned airport selection “shouldn’t make or break your journey”, however warned that “too many holidays obtained off to a horrible begin final 12 months”.
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He added: “Manchester Airport has ranked final in our airport survey for 4 consecutive years and these new CAA figures validate why this can be a notably poor place to be stranded throughout delays.
“For passengers already cautious of journey uncertainty, seeing such constant underperformance makes it troublesome to ebook with any actual confidence.”
Birmingham Airport (BHX) recorded the second-worst punctuality, with common delays of 18 minutes and 42 seconds. It was adopted by Bournemouth Airport (BOH) in third place at 17 minutes and 18 seconds.
On the different finish of the dimensions, Liverpool John Lennon Airport (LPL) – situated lower than 30 miles from Manchester – had probably the most punctual departures, with common delays of simply 9 minutes and 24 seconds.
The evaluation lined scheduled and constitution departures from 23 UK business airports with at the least 1,000 outbound flights final 12 months. Cancellations weren’t included. Throughout the UK, common departure delays fell to 14 minutes and 54 seconds in 2025 – down from 18 minutes and 24 seconds the 12 months earlier than.
Regardless of its poor rating, Manchester stays a key aviation hub. It’s the solely UK airport exterior Heathrow Airport with two runways and dealt with round 32 million passengers final 12 months. The airport has additionally undergone main redevelopment, together with a £1.3billion, 10-year transformation programme that modernised and expanded Terminal 2 and led to the closure of Terminal 1. Work to revamp Terminal 3 is ongoing.
Manchester Airport was utilized by 32 million passengers final 12 months and is revamping Terminal 3 (Picture: Getty)
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport mentioned: “Punctuality is affected by components which can be exterior of an airport’s management. The 2 most important components contributing to delays within the final 12 months have been industrial motion affecting air site visitors management in Europe, and the climate.
“These had been exacerbated by airspace restrictions above battle zones which means airports with important long-haul networks, like Manchester, had been extra considerably affected than others.
“As an business we’re working collectively to attain the absolute best on-time departure charges, whereas defending flight schedules and avoiding the necessity for cancellations.”
A spokesman for Bournemouth Airport mentioned the rationale for delays are exterior its management “within the majority of instances”, and it’s “one of many UK’s top-ranked regional airports for passenger satisfaction”.
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson mentioned: “Flight delays can occur for a number of causes together with industrial motion and dangerous climate, a few of that are out of an airport’s management. Final month over half of all plane left on time and we proceed to work laborious to enhance punctuality. Our colleagues work tirelessly to supply good passenger service, with the overwhelming majority of individuals score their expertise as glorious.”
A spokesperson for the commerce physique, AirportsUK, mentioned passengers are “benefitting from enhancements within the service they obtain”, and delays in 2025 had been “down considerably on the earlier 12 months”.
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