UK Airport League — Most & Least Punctual Departures

Based on 9,539,901 scheduled departures from 25 UK airports across all years in the CAA dataset.

Most punctual UK airport

Belfast City

78.8% on time · 11.8 min avg delay

36 destinations

Least punctual UK airport

London Gatwick

64.3% on time · 21 min avg delay

307 destinations

Full UK ranking

#	Airport	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Flights
1	Belfast City36 destinations	78.8%	11.8 min	2.3%	155,009
2	Liverpool108 destinations	78.6%	12.5 min	0.7%	178,160
3	East Midlands92 destinations	77.1%	13.2 min	0.3%	119,187
4	London Southend66 destinations	77.1%	13.3 min	1.0%	29,384
5	Exeter25 destinations	76%	13.9 min	2.0%	30,782
6	Teesside15 destinations	76%	13.8 min	3.5%	14,396
7	Aberdeen41 destinations	75.9%	13.6 min	3.9%	155,942
8	Cardiff36 destinations	75.1%	14 min	1.7%	32,143
9	Southampton47 destinations	75.1%	14.6 min	3.2%	102,228
10	Glasgow106 destinations	74.7%	13.8 min	1.9%	338,458
11	Belfast International80 destinations	74.5%	15.2 min	0.6%	225,604
12	Jersey47 destinations	74.2%	15.6 min	1.7%	93,030
13	Leeds Bradford94 destinations	74%	15.1 min	1.6%	155,636
14	London City60 destinations	73.9%	12.8 min	3.1%	230,480
15	Isle of Man17 destinations	73.5%	18.2 min	3.1%	51,376
16	Bournemouth45 destinations	71.6%	16.9 min	0.1%	27,306
17	Newcastle106 destinations	71.5%	16.1 min	1.0%	194,565
18	London Heathrow299 destinations	70.9%	16.1 min	1.5%	2,425,288
19	London Stansted258 destinations	69.1%	17.3 min	0.4%	907,464
20	Edinburgh194 destinations	68.9%	17.1 min	1.2%	582,567
21	Birmingham173 destinations	68.2%	18 min	1.0%	416,440
22	London Luton190 destinations	68.2%	18.9 min	0.7%	532,912
23	Bristol152 destinations	66.4%	19.8 min	0.9%	333,733
24	Manchester267 destinations	66.2%	19.2 min	1.1%	908,475
25	London Gatwick307 destinations	64.3%	21 min	1.0%	1,299,336

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	77.1%	13.3 min	1.0%	29,384
2	London City60 destinations	73.9%	12.8 min	3.1%	230,480
3	London Heathrow299 destinations	70.9%	16.1 min	1.5%	2,425,288
4	London Stansted258 destinations	69.1%	17.3 min	0.4%	907,464
5	London Luton190 destinations	68.2%	18.9 min	0.7%	532,912
6	London Gatwick307 destinations	64.3%	21 min	1.0%	1,299,336

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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