UK Airport League — Most & Least Punctual Departures

Based on 8,810,703 scheduled departures from 25 UK airports across all years in the CAA dataset.

Most punctual UK airport

Belfast City

78.6% on time · 11.9 min avg delay

36 destinations

Least punctual UK airport

London Gatwick

63.1% on time · 21.7 min avg delay

303 destinations

Full UK ranking

#	Airport	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Flights
1	Belfast City36 destinations	78.6%	11.9 min	2.4%	142,809
2	Liverpool107 destinations	78.2%	12.8 min	0.7%	163,443
3	East Midlands92 destinations	76.8%	13.3 min	0.3%	112,100
4	London Southend66 destinations	76.6%	13.7 min	1.1%	27,071
5	Exeter25 destinations	76.2%	13.9 min	1.9%	28,993
6	Teesside15 destinations	75.6%	13.8 min	3.5%	13,488
7	Aberdeen41 destinations	75.5%	13.8 min	4.0%	144,934
8	Cardiff35 destinations	74.9%	14.1 min	1.6%	30,498
9	Southampton46 destinations	74.9%	14.7 min	3.1%	95,994
10	Glasgow106 destinations	74.2%	14.1 min	1.9%	313,191
11	Belfast International80 destinations	73.9%	15.5 min	0.6%	208,186
12	Jersey47 destinations	73.7%	15.9 min	1.8%	87,495
13	Leeds Bradford94 destinations	73.6%	15.3 min	1.6%	144,140
14	London City59 destinations	73.5%	12.9 min	3.2%	212,193
15	Isle of Man15 destinations	73%	18.5 min	3.1%	47,844
16	Newcastle104 destinations	70.7%	16.5 min	1.0%	179,795
17	Bournemouth43 destinations	70.6%	17.6 min	0.1%	24,557
18	London Heathrow297 destinations	70.2%	16.5 min	1.5%	2,234,965
19	London Stansted256 destinations	68.3%	17.7 min	0.4%	836,493
20	Edinburgh192 destinations	68.1%	17.6 min	1.2%	537,481
21	Birmingham171 destinations	67.7%	18.3 min	0.9%	383,783
22	London Luton188 destinations	67.3%	19.5 min	0.7%	490,895
23	Manchester262 destinations	65.8%	19.4 min	1.1%	836,890
24	Bristol151 destinations	65.3%	20.5 min	0.9%	306,842
25	London Gatwick303 destinations	63.1%	21.7 min	1.0%	1,206,623

London showdown

All five (plus Southend, if it qualifies) London airports head-to-head — which one actually gets you off the ground on time?

#	London airport	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Flights
1	London Southend66 destinations	76.6%	13.7 min	1.1%	27,071
2	London City59 destinations	73.5%	12.9 min	3.2%	212,193
3	London Heathrow297 destinations	70.2%	16.5 min	1.5%	2,234,965
4	London Stansted256 destinations	68.3%	17.7 min	0.4%	836,493
5	London Luton188 destinations	67.3%	19.5 min	0.7%	490,895
6	London Gatwick303 destinations	63.1%	21.7 min	1.0%	1,206,623

Methodology

On-time arrival rate is the share of flights that touch down within 15 minutes of schedule (UK CAA definition). Each airport's score is a flight-weighted average across every airline and every destination it serves.

Airports with fewer than 10,000 scheduled flights in the CAA dataset are excluded to keep the comparison fair across hubs and regional airports.

Source: UK CAA Punctuality Statistics. Data refreshed monthly.

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