UK FLIGHT DELAY INDEX

derived from CAA punctuality statistics for UK reporting airports

How often are these flights late or cancelled?

Emerald Airlines UK Ltd

In the twelve months from July 2025 to June 2026, 27.1% of 7,827 movements arriving into the UK were disrupted — more than fifteen minutes late or cancelled at short notice.

Put the other way round, 72.9% of 7,827 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

27.1% of 7,827 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
27.1% of 7,827 movements3.2% of 7,827 movements29.2–65.6 minutes; delayed denominator 1,874–3,9441.0% of 7,827 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 7,827 movements passed the three-hour mark.

The ladder shows how many movements crossed each threshold. Cancellations are separate: 3.2% of 7,827 movements.

DelayShare and sampleOne event per movements
More than 15 minutes23.9% of 7,827 movements4.2
More than 30 minutes14.1% of 7,827 movements7.1
More than 60 minutes6.9% of 7,827 movements14.6
More than 120 minutes2.3% of 7,827 movements44.0
More than 180 minutes1.0% of 7,827 movements99.1
More than 360 minutes0.1% of 7,827 movements978.4
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 7,827 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 early82210.5%15–1 early2,81435.9%0–15 late2,07026.4%16–307729.9%31–605657.2%61…1203594.6%121…180991.3%181…360710.9%>36080.1%D=7,830
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, 5.1% of 156 movements. Worst month: Jul 2025, 39.1% of 667 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: no data×Jun 2022: no data×Jul 2022: no data×Aug 2022: no data×Sep 2022: no data×Oct 2022: no data×Nov 2022: no data×Dec 2022: 19.3%; sample: 83Jan 2023: 5.1%; sample: 1562023Feb 2023: 10.3%; sample: 261Mar 2023: 24.4%; sample: 311Apr 2023: 14.9%; sample: 597May 2023: 24.5%; sample: 664Jun 2023: 25.4%; sample: 858Jul 2023: 26.5%; sample: 773Aug 2023: 35.3%; sample: 747Sep 2023: 23.7%; sample: 752Oct 2023: 23.2%; sample: 770Nov 2023: 20.4%; sample: 675Dec 2023: 29.4%; sample: 731Jan 2024: 25.3%; sample: 6092024Feb 2024: 15.8%; sample: 594Mar 2024: 17.4%; sample: 755Apr 2024: 20.0%; sample: 660May 2024: 13.9%; sample: 750Jun 2024: 18.3%; sample: 769Jul 2024: 15.9%; sample: 788Aug 2024: 11.6%; sample: 786Sep 2024: 20.1%; sample: 741Oct 2024: 13.4%; sample: 732Nov 2024: 15.7%; sample: 650Dec 2024: 24.3%; sample: 585Jan 2025: 22.3%; sample: 6182025Feb 2025: 13.7%; sample: 554Mar 2025: 8.9%; sample: 631Apr 2025: 20.8%; sample: 665May 2025: 16.6%; sample: 679Jun 2025: 32.2%; sample: 678Jul 2025: 39.1%; sample: 667Aug 2025: 36.9%; sample: 636Sep 2025: 29.7%; sample: 606Oct 2025: 28.5%; sample: 600Nov 2025: 21.7%; sample: 572Dec 2025: 37.1%; sample: 615Jan 2026: 21.7%; sample: 6072026Feb 2026: 16.8%; sample: 591Mar 2026: 26.1%; sample: 664Apr 2026: 16.0%; sample: 725May 2026: 23.6%; sample: 797Jun 2026: 28.6%; sample: 747Pandemic 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 2022no data
Jun 2022no data
Jul 2022no data
Aug 2022no data
Sep 2022no data
Oct 2022no data
Nov 2022no data
Dec 202219.3% of 83 movements
Jan 20235.1% of 156 movements
Feb 202310.3% of 261 movements
Mar 202324.4% of 311 movements
Apr 202314.9% of 597 movements
May 202324.5% of 664 movements
Jun 202325.4% of 858 movements
Jul 202326.5% of 773 movements
Aug 202335.3% of 747 movements
Sep 202323.7% of 752 movements
Oct 202323.2% of 770 movements
Nov 202320.4% of 675 movements
Dec 202329.4% of 731 movements
Jan 202425.3% of 609 movements
Feb 202415.8% of 594 movements
Mar 202417.4% of 755 movements
Apr 202420.0% of 660 movements
May 202413.9% of 750 movements
Jun 202418.3% of 769 movements
Jul 202415.9% of 788 movements
Aug 202411.6% of 786 movements
Sep 202420.1% of 741 movements
Oct 202413.4% of 732 movements
Nov 202415.7% of 650 movements
Dec 202424.3% of 585 movements
Jan 202522.3% of 618 movements
Feb 202513.7% of 554 movements
Mar 20258.9% of 631 movements
Apr 202520.8% of 665 movements
May 202516.6% of 679 movements
Jun 202532.2% of 678 movements
Jul 202539.1% of 667 movements
Aug 202536.9% of 636 movements
Sep 202529.7% of 606 movements
Oct 202528.5% of 600 movements
Nov 202521.7% of 572 movements
Dec 202537.1% of 615 movements
Jan 202621.7% of 607 movements
Feb 202616.8% of 591 movements
Mar 202626.1% of 664 movements
Apr 202616.0% of 725 movements
May 202623.6% of 797 movements
Jun 202628.6% of 747 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 2022Arrivalsno datano complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022Departuresno datano complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Arrivals35.3% of 747 movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Departures31.2% of 753 movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Arrivals8.9% of 631 movements17.2% across 8,388 flightsreturned after 2 months
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Departures8.1% of 631 movements15.4% across 8,431 flightsreturned after 2 months
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: Aug, 35.3% across 3 months. Lowest median: Feb, 14.8% 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 datano datano datano datano datano datano datano data19.3% of 83 movements20235.1% of 156 movements10.3% of 261 movements24.4% of 311 movements14.9% of 597 movements24.5% of 664 movements25.4% of 858 movements26.5% of 773 movements35.3% of 747 movements23.7% of 752 movements23.2% of 770 movements20.4% of 675 movements29.4% of 731 movements202425.3% of 609 movements15.8% of 594 movements17.4% of 755 movements20.0% of 660 movements13.9% of 750 movements18.3% of 769 movements15.9% of 788 movements11.6% of 786 movements20.1% of 741 movements13.4% of 732 movements15.7% of 650 movements24.3% of 585 movements202522.3% of 618 movements13.7% of 554 movements8.9% of 631 movements20.8% of 665 movements16.6% of 679 movements32.2% of 678 movements39.1% of 667 movements36.9% of 636 movements29.7% of 606 movements28.5% of 600 movements21.7% of 572 movements37.1% of 615 movements202621.7% of 607 movements16.8% of 591 movements26.1% of 664 movements16.0% of 725 movements23.6% of 797 movements28.6% of 747 movementsno datano datano datano datano datano data
Month-by-month table: median, observed range and sample
MonthMedianObserved rangeSample
Jan22.0%5.1–25.3%4 months, 1,990 flights
Feb14.8%10.3–16.8%4 months, 2,000 flights
Mar20.9%8.9–26.1%4 months, 2,361 flights
Apr18.0%14.9–20.8%4 months, 2,647 flights
May20.1%13.9–24.5%4 months, 2,890 flights
Jun27.0%18.3–32.2%4 months, 3,052 flights
Jul26.5%15.9–39.1%3 months, 2,228 flights
Aug35.3%11.6–36.9%3 months, 2,169 flights
Sep23.7%20.1–29.7%3 months, 2,099 flights
Oct23.2%13.4–28.5%3 months, 2,102 flights
Nov20.4%15.7–21.7%3 months, 1,897 flights
Dec26.8%19.3–37.1%4 months, 2,014 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: SOU ↔ BELFAST-CITY-GEORGE-BEST, 21.2% of 80 movements. Highest disruption: BHD ↔ EXETER, 31.6% of 98 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 optionSou ↔ Belfast-City-George-Best21.2% of 80 flightsBhd ↔ Leeds-Bradford23.5% of 1,132 flightsBhd ↔ East-Midlands-International24.2% of 289 flightsGla ↔ Belfast-City-George-Best28.8% of 59 flightsBhd ↔ Edinburgh30.2% of 959 flightsBhd ↔ Exeter31.6% of 98 flights
All route comparisons and sample flags
RouteDisruptionCancellationsSample flag
Southampton ↔ Belfast City (George Best)21.2% of 80 movementsno events in 80 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Leeds Bradford23.5% of 1,132 movements4.2% of 1,132 movementsdescriptive comparison
BHD ↔ EAST-MIDLANDS-INTERNATIONAL24.2% of 289 movements2.8% of 289 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Southampton24.3% of 870 movements2.2% of 870 movementsdescriptive comparison
EXT ↔ BELFAST-CITY-GEORGE-BEST25.3% of 79 movements1.3% of 79 movementsdescriptive comparison
BHD ↔ CARDIFF-WALES25.8% of 325 movements1.8% of 325 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Glasgow26.8% of 407 movements1.2% of 407 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Birmingham28.0% of 1,889 movements4.4% of 1,889 movementsdescriptive comparison
CWL ↔ BELFAST-CITY-GEORGE-BEST28.2% of 287 movements1.7% of 287 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Manchester28.3% of 1,281 movements2.7% of 1,281 movementsdescriptive comparison
Glasgow ↔ Belfast City (George Best)28.8% of 59 movementsno events in 59 movementsdescriptive comparison
Belfast City (George Best) ↔ Edinburgh30.2% of 959 movements3.5% of 959 movementsdescriptive comparison
BHD ↔ EXETER31.6% of 98 movements1.0% of 98 movementsdescriptive comparison
BHD ↔ NEWQUAY90.0% of 20 movements — small sample, not rankedno events in 20 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)27.1% of 7,283 movementsdescriptive comparison
Cardiff Wales28.1% of 288 movementsdescriptive comparison
Exeter25.3% of 79 movementsdescriptive comparison
Glasgow26.0% of 77 movementsdescriptive comparison
Southampton21.2% of 80 movementsdescriptive comparison
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

27.1% of 7,827 movements arrivals were disrupted, against 23.7% of 7,845 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 7,827 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 UK Ltd appears from Dec 2022 to Jun 2026 with 27,449 arrivals.

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

Archive route pairs: 47.

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?

27.1% of 7,827 movements over July 2025 to June 2026.

How often are they cancelled?

3.2% of 7,827 movements at short notice.

How late is late?

29.2–65.6 minutes; delayed denominator 1,874–3,944

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.