UK FLIGHT DELAY INDEX

derived from CAA punctuality statistics for UK reporting airports

How often are these flights late or cancelled?

Emerald Airlines (Ireland) Limited

In the twelve months from July 2025 to June 2026, 29.0% of 2,427 movements arriving into the UK were disrupted — more than fifteen minutes late or cancelled at short notice.

Put the other way round, 71.0% of 2,427 movements met the fifteen-minute convention. These are historical observations, not a forecast.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Source: CAA punctuality statistics · snapshot 17/08/2026 10:24 · method route-record-v2.1 · Versioned claims, formulas and entity mapping.

0 operations (0.00%) excluded because their published percentages could not be reconciled to whole numbers. Excluded operations enter neither the numerator nor the denominator. Outcome figures and comparisons are unavailable when the excluded share exceeds fifteen percent.

The four numbers at a glance

29.0% of 2,427 movements were disrupted over July 2025 to June 2026.

Average delay covers delayed movements only. Its range reflects rounded source means and the unknown count of exactly punctual movements.

DisruptionShort-notice cancellationsDelay among delayed movementsOver three hours
29.0% of 2,427 movements1.7% of 2,427 movements30.2–65.3 minutes; delayed denominator 662–1,3521.0% of 2,427 movements
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

When late, how late?

1.0% of 2,427 movements passed the three-hour mark.

The ladder shows how many movements crossed each threshold. Cancellations are separate: 1.7% of 2,427 movements.

DelayShare and sampleOne event per movements
More than 15 minutes27.3% of 2,427 movements3.7
More than 30 minutes16.7% of 2,427 movements6.0
More than 60 minutes8.4% of 2,427 movements11.9
More than 120 minutes2.3% of 2,427 movements44.1
More than 180 minutes1.0% of 2,427 movements97.1
More than 360 minutes0.1% of 2,427 movements1,213.5
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Slightly late or occasionally a disaster?

2.3% of 2,427 movements passed two hours.

The histogram shows the published delay bands. Bucket shares use all reported operations, including unmatched records; cancellations are reported separately.

Nine delay buckets, minutes; share of all recorded operations>15 early1998.2%15–1 early83534.2%0–15 late69028.3%16–3025710.5%31–602018.2%61…1201496.1%121…180301.2%181…360230.9%>36020.1%D=2,441
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Better or worse since the start of the archive?

Best month: Jan 2023, 9.0% of 89 movements. Worst month: Jul 2023, 68.6% of 70 movements.

The line traces every month. Lower disruption is better; gaps are never zeros. Pandemic readings describe a different operating regime.

Monthly disruption share; gaps mean no published dataJan 2018: no data×2018Feb 2018: no data×Mar 2018: no data×Apr 2018: no data×May 2018: no data×Jun 2018: no data×Jul 2018: no data×Aug 2018: no data×Sep 2018: no data×Oct 2018: no data×Nov 2018: no data×Dec 2018: no data×Jan 2019: no data×2019Feb 2019: no data×Mar 2019: no data×Apr 2019: no data×May 2019: no data×Jun 2019: no data×Jul 2019: no data×Aug 2019: no data×Sep 2019: no data×Oct 2019: no data×Nov 2019: no data×Dec 2019: no data×Jan 2020: no data×2020Feb 2020: no data×Mar 2020: no data×Apr 2020: no data×May 2020: no data×Jun 2020: no data×Jul 2020: no data×Aug 2020: no data×Sep 2020: no data×Oct 2020: no data×Nov 2020: no data×Dec 2020: no data×Jan 2021: no data×2021Feb 2021: no data×Mar 2021: no data×Apr 2021: no data×May 2021: no data×Jun 2021: no data×Jul 2021: no data×Aug 2021: no data×Sep 2021: no data×Oct 2021: no data×Nov 2021: no data×Dec 2021: no data×Jan 2022: no data×2022Feb 2022: no data×Mar 2022: no data×Apr 2022: no data×May 2022: 41.1%; sample: 56Jun 2022: 51.3%; sample: 78Jul 2022: 39.8%; sample: 93Aug 2022: 31.9%; sample: 94Sep 2022: 44.9%; sample: 98Oct 2022: 37.0%; sample: 100Nov 2022: 33.3%; sample: 87Dec 2022: 32.3%; sample: 99Jan 2023: 9.0%; sample: 892023Feb 2023: 28.4%; sample: 67Mar 2023: 29.5%; sample: 78Apr 2023: 38.7%; sample: 75May 2023: 51.9%; sample: 79Jun 2023: 48.3%; sample: 87Jul 2023: 68.6%; sample: 70Aug 2023: 56.3%; sample: 71Sep 2023: 49.3%; sample: 71Oct 2023: 38.5%; sample: 65Nov 2023: 17.0%; sample: 53Dec 2023: 23.5%; sample: 51Jan 2024: 28.0%; sample: 502024Feb 2024: 26.0%; sample: 50Mar 2024: 16.0%; sample: 50Apr 2024: 24.1%; sample: 58May 2024: 43.1%; sample: 58Jun 2024: 37.7%; sample: 69Jul 2024: 30.8%; sample: 65Aug 2024: 37.3%; sample: 67Sep 2024: 32.8%; sample: 64Oct 2024: 13.8%; sample: 58Nov 2024: 26.2%; sample: 42Dec 2024: 37.5%; sample: 40Jan 2025: 42.3%; sample: 262025Feb 2025: 16.7%; sample: 30Mar 2025: 27.0%; sample: 37Apr 2025: 18.6%; sample: 70May 2025: 21.5%; sample: 256Jun 2025: 26.5%; sample: 230Jul 2025: 32.4%; sample: 250Aug 2025: 30.1%; sample: 239Sep 2025: 32.2%; sample: 214Oct 2025: 19.8%; sample: 222Nov 2025: 24.2%; sample: 194Dec 2025: 35.6%; sample: 180Jan 2026: 26.6%; sample: 2182026Feb 2026: 16.7%; sample: 162Mar 2026: 30.5%; sample: 177Apr 2026: 28.1%; sample: 160May 2026: 33.2%; sample: 214Jun 2026: 36.0%; sample: 197Pandemic regime Jun 2020Summer 2022 breakdown Jul 2022NATS system failure Aug 2023Heathrow fire closure Mar 2025100%0%
Every monthly observation
MonthDisruption on arrivals
Jan 2018no data
Feb 2018no data
Mar 2018no data
Apr 2018no data
May 2018no data
Jun 2018no data
Jul 2018no data
Aug 2018no data
Sep 2018no data
Oct 2018no data
Nov 2018no data
Dec 2018no data
Jan 2019no data
Feb 2019no data
Mar 2019no data
Apr 2019no data
May 2019no data
Jun 2019no data
Jul 2019no data
Aug 2019no data
Sep 2019no data
Oct 2019no data
Nov 2019no data
Dec 2019no data
Jan 2020no data
Feb 2020no data
Mar 2020no data
Apr 2020no data
May 2020no data
Jun 2020no data
Jul 2020no data
Aug 2020no data
Sep 2020no data
Oct 2020no data
Nov 2020no data
Dec 2020no data
Jan 2021no data
Feb 2021no data
Mar 2021no data
Apr 2021no data
May 2021no data
Jun 2021no data
Jul 2021no data
Aug 2021no data
Sep 2021no data
Oct 2021no data
Nov 2021no data
Dec 2021no data
Jan 2022no data
Feb 2022no data
Mar 2022no data
Apr 2022no data
May 202241.1% of 56 movements
Jun 202251.3% of 78 movements
Jul 202239.8% of 93 movements
Aug 202231.9% of 94 movements
Sep 202244.9% of 98 movements
Oct 202237.0% of 100 movements
Nov 202233.3% of 87 movements
Dec 202232.3% of 99 movements
Jan 20239.0% of 89 movements
Feb 202328.4% of 67 movements
Mar 202329.5% of 78 movements
Apr 202338.7% of 75 movements
May 202351.9% of 79 movements
Jun 202348.3% of 87 movements
Jul 202368.6% of 70 movements
Aug 202356.3% of 71 movements
Sep 202349.3% of 71 movements
Oct 202338.5% of 65 movements
Nov 202317.0% of 53 movements
Dec 202323.5% of 51 movements
Jan 202428.0% of 50 movements
Feb 202426.0% of 50 movements
Mar 202416.0% of 50 movements
Apr 202424.1% of 58 movements
May 202443.1% of 58 movements
Jun 202437.7% of 69 movements
Jul 202430.8% of 65 movements
Aug 202437.3% of 67 movements
Sep 202432.8% of 64 movements
Oct 202413.8% of 58 movements
Nov 202426.2% of 42 movements — small sample, not ranked
Dec 202437.5% of 40 movements — small sample, not ranked
Jan 202542.3% of 26 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202516.7% of 30 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202527.0% of 37 movements — small sample, not ranked
Apr 202518.6% of 70 movements
May 202521.5% of 256 movements
Jun 202526.5% of 230 movements
Jul 202532.4% of 250 movements
Aug 202530.1% of 239 movements
Sep 202532.2% of 214 movements
Oct 202519.8% of 222 movements
Nov 202524.2% of 194 movements
Dec 202535.6% of 180 movements
Jan 202626.6% of 218 movements
Feb 202616.7% of 162 movements
Mar 202630.5% of 177 movements
Apr 202628.1% of 160 movements
May 202633.2% of 214 movements
Jun 202636.0% of 197 movements
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

What did the big disruptions do here?

Each event is compared with the twelve preceding calendar months and the first later return to baseline.

A worse month is not proof the named event caused it. The open data carry no delay-cause field. Recovery is observed for at most eight subsequent months.

EventDirectionDisruption that monthBaseline beforeReturn to baseline
Pandemic regime · Jun 2020Arrivalsno datano complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Pandemic regime · Jun 2020Departuresno datano complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022Arrivals39.8% of 93 movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022Departures34.8% of 89 movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Arrivals56.3% of 71 movements37.8% across 1,023 flightsreturned after 3 months
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Departures50.7% of 67 movements39.6% across 985 flightsreturned after 2 months
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Arrivals27.0% of 37 movements — small sample, not ranked29.9% across 627 flightsreturned the next month
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Departures27.0% of 37 movements — small sample, not ranked34.6% across 635 flightsreturned the next month
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Which time of year has been hardest?

Highest median: May, 41.1% across 5 months. Lowest median: Feb, 21.3% across 4 months.

Even the same calendar month differs across years. This is a record, not a forecast; pandemic years are excluded from the summaries.

Each cell is one calendar month of one year; the number is the share of that month’s arrivals that were disrupted. Darker means worse. A blank cell means no published data, not zero.

Seasonality: calendar month by year; share and nJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec2019no datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano data2020no datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano data2021no datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano datano data2022no datano datano datano data41.1% of 56 movements51.3% of 78 movements39.8% of 93 movements31.9% of 94 movements44.9% of 98 movements37.0% of 100 movements33.3% of 87 movements32.3% of 99 movements20239.0% of 89 movements28.4% of 67 movements29.5% of 78 movements38.7% of 75 movements51.9% of 79 movements48.3% of 87 movements68.6% of 70 movements56.3% of 71 movements49.3% of 71 movements38.5% of 65 movements17.0% of 53 movements23.5% of 51 movements202428.0% of 50 movements26.0% of 50 movements16.0% of 50 movements24.1% of 58 movements43.1% of 58 movements37.7% of 69 movements30.8% of 65 movements37.3% of 67 movements32.8% of 64 movements13.8% of 58 movements26.2% of 42 movements †37.5% of 40 movements †202542.3% of 26 movements †16.7% of 30 movements †27.0% of 37 movements †18.6% of 70 movements21.5% of 256 movements26.5% of 230 movements32.4% of 250 movements30.1% of 239 movements32.2% of 214 movements19.8% of 222 movements24.2% of 194 movements35.6% of 180 movements202626.6% of 218 movements16.7% of 162 movements30.5% of 177 movements28.1% of 160 movements33.2% of 214 movements36.0% of 197 movementsno datano datano datano datano datano data
Month-by-month table: median, observed range and sample
MonthMedianObserved rangeSample
Jan27.3%9.0–42.3%4 months, 383 flights
Feb21.3%16.7–28.4%4 months, 309 flights
Mar28.3%16.0–30.5%4 months, 342 flights
Apr26.1%18.6–38.7%4 months, 363 flights
May41.1%21.5–51.9%5 months, 663 flights
Jun37.7%26.5–51.3%5 months, 661 flights
Jul36.1%30.8–68.6%4 months, 478 flights
Aug34.6%30.1–56.3%4 months, 471 flights
Sep38.9%32.2–49.3%4 months, 447 flights
Oct28.4%13.8–38.5%4 months, 445 flights
Nov25.2%17.0–33.3%4 months, 376 flights
Dec33.9%23.5–37.5%4 months, 370 flights
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Which routes have the best and worst record?

Lowest disruption: EXT ↔ DUBLIN, 11.9% of 109 movements. Highest disruption: BHD ↔ BIRMINGHAM, 56.9% of 109 movements.

The airline table uses this carrier on each route; airport and country tables combine carriers. Each figure is arrivals into its UK airport. Only sufficiently large exact samples enter the ordered comparison.

Observed disruption share by optionExt ↔ Dublin11.9% of 109 flightsBrs ↔ Cork18.8% of 463 flightsIom ↔ Dublin25.3% of 529 flightsBrs ↔ Dublin27.9% of 960 flightsBhd ↔ Edinburgh50.7% of 75 flightsBhd ↔ Birmingham56.9% of 109 flights
All route comparisons and sample flags
RouteDisruptionCancellationsSample flag
EXT ↔ DUBLIN11.9% of 109 movementsno events in 109 movementsdescriptive comparison
BRS ↔ CORK18.8% of 463 movements2.2% of 463 movementsdescriptive comparison
Isle Of Man ↔ Dublin25.3% of 529 movements2.5% of 529 movementsdescriptive comparison
Bristol ↔ Dublin27.9% of 960 movements1.5% of 960 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Edinburgh50.7% of 75 movements1.3% of 75 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Birmingham56.9% of 109 movements0.9% of 109 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Leeds Bradford54.5% of 33 movements — small sample, not rankedno events in 33 movements — small sample, not rankedsmall sample; not ranked
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Manchester61.7% of 47 movements — small sample, not ranked2.1% of 47 movements — small sample, not rankedsmall sample; not ranked
JER ↔ DUBLIN55.6% of 36 movements — small sample, not rankedno events in 36 movements — small sample, not rankedsmall sample; not ranked
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Which UK airports appear in this record?

5 published groups have enough arrivals to describe.

These operations are not matched for season, aircraft or time of day. The table makes no causal comparison.

UK airportDisruptionSample flag
Belfast City (George Best)55.1% of 323 movementsdescriptive comparison
Bristol24.9% of 1,425 movementsdescriptive comparison
Exeter11.9% of 109 movementsdescriptive comparison
Isle Of Man25.3% of 529 movementsdescriptive comparison
Jersey55.6% of 36 movements — small sample, not rankedsmall sample; not ranked
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Arrivals vs departures

29.0% of 2,427 movements arrivals were disrupted, against 30.0% of 2,446 movements departures.

The directions have separate denominators. A departure delay does not establish late arrival at the final destination; legal conditions differ by direction and carrier.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Movements past the three-hour mark

1.0% of 2,427 movements were more than three hours late over July 2025 to June 2026.

Cancellation is counted separately and is not a three-hour delay. Monthly counts cannot establish a passenger claim.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Facts about this record

Emerald Airlines (Ireland) Limited appears from May 2022 to Jun 2026 with 5,308 arrivals.

The bounds describe the published record, not every commercial service. Final point is not necessarily a nonstop destination.

Archive route pairs: 57.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

What this data cannot tell you

Delay cause, individual passenger experience, commercial decisions and future performance are not established here.

Also absent are aircraft type, within-month time-of-day splits and cancellations made ahead of the short-notice reporting window.

0 operations (0.00%) excluded because their published percentages could not be reconciled to whole numbers. Excluded operations enter neither the numerator nor the denominator. Outcome figures and comparisons are unavailable when the excluded share exceeds fifteen percent.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Quick answers

These answers use the same populations and window as the tables above.

Every percentage retains its denominator.

How disrupted are these arrivals?

29.0% of 2,427 movements over July 2025 to June 2026.

How often are they cancelled?

1.7% of 2,427 movements at short notice.

How late is late?

30.2–65.3 minutes; delayed denominator 662–1,352

Are services improving?

The monthly line records past changes; it is not a forecast or a causal comparison.

Which routes are compared?

The route table uses separately identified UK airport and final-point pairs, with small samples flagged.

Does this cover my flight?

Only published aggregate movements; the circumstances of any individual flight are unknown.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

How this was calculated

Source: CAA punctuality statistics · snapshot 17/08/2026 10:24 · method route-record-v2.1 · Versioned claims, formulas and entity mapping.

Integer bucket counts are recovered from rounding intervals over D=M+C+U with their sum constrained to M. Ambiguous counts remain ranges; failed reconciliation is quarantined.

Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.

Your trip has already gone wrong

The monthly line and events table show whether your month was typical or unusual in the published record.

Nothing here decides an individual case or what a passenger may be owed.

CAA: the official route to complain
Definitions, denominators and limits

Arrivals into UK reporting airports only unless labelled departures. Denominator: operated movements plus short-notice cancellations (M+C). A movement is not a scheduled flight. Unmatched records are data quality, not outcomes. Cells below twenty movements are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive and not ranked.