How often are these flights late or cancelled?
China
In the twelve months from July 2025 to June 2026, 22.8% of 5,317 movements arriving into the UK were disrupted — more than fifteen minutes late or cancelled at short notice.
Put the other way round, 77.2% of 5,317 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
22.8% of 5,317 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.
| Disruption | Short-notice cancellations | Delay among delayed movements | Over three hours |
|---|---|---|---|
| 22.8% of 5,317 movements | 0.4% of 5,317 movements | 26.8–55.0 minutes; delayed denominator 1,195–2,260 | 0.5% of 5,317 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?
0.5% of 5,317 movements passed the three-hour mark.
The ladder shows how many movements crossed each threshold. Cancellations are separate: 0.4% of 5,317 movements.
| Delay | Share and sample | One event per movements |
|---|---|---|
| More than 15 minutes | 22.5% of 5,317 movements | 4.4 |
| More than 30 minutes | 11.9% of 5,317 movements | 8.4 |
| More than 60 minutes | 3.9% of 5,317 movements | 25.9 |
| More than 120 minutes | 1.3% of 5,317 movements | 78.2 |
| More than 180 minutes | 0.5% of 5,317 movements | 204.5 |
| More than 360 minutes | 0.1% of 5,317 movements | 1,329.2 |
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?
1.3% of 5,317 movements passed two hours.
The histogram shows the published delay bands. Bucket shares use all reported operations, including unmatched records; cancellations are reported separately.
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: Feb 2018, 7.7% of 234 movements. Worst month: Mar 2023, 69.5% of 59 movements.
The line traces every month. Lower disruption is better; gaps are never zeros. Pandemic readings describe a different operating regime.
Every monthly observation
| Month | Disruption on arrivals |
|---|---|
| Jan 2018 | 27.0% of 270 movements |
| Feb 2018 | 7.7% of 234 movements |
| Mar 2018 | 37.2% of 261 movements |
| Apr 2018 | 52.2% of 270 movements |
| May 2018 | 27.1% of 284 movements |
| Jun 2018 | 22.7% of 300 movements |
| Jul 2018 | 17.7% of 345 movements |
| Aug 2018 | 24.6% of 350 movements |
| Sep 2018 | 34.1% of 334 movements |
| Oct 2018 | 34.0% of 344 movements |
| Nov 2018 | 18.3% of 328 movements |
| Dec 2018 | 21.4% of 346 movements |
| Jan 2019 | 15.6% of 365 movements |
| Feb 2019 | 22.2% of 320 movements |
| Mar 2019 | 29.5% of 359 movements |
| Apr 2019 | 52.8% of 388 movements |
| May 2019 | 42.2% of 389 movements |
| Jun 2019 | 30.0% of 390 movements |
| Jul 2019 | 17.5% of 416 movements |
| Aug 2019 | 33.9% of 413 movements |
| Sep 2019 | 26.4% of 398 movements |
| Oct 2019 | 57.8% of 391 movements |
| Nov 2019 | 36.0% of 358 movements |
| Dec 2019 | 33.2% of 380 movements |
| Jan 2020 | 26.1% of 371 movements |
| Feb 2020 | 40.0% of 120 movements |
| Mar 2020 | 46.2% of 117 movements |
| Apr 2020 | 48.3% of 29 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| May 2020 | 5.0% of 20 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Jun 2020 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Jul 2020 | 13.6% of 22 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Aug 2020 | 20.0% of 20 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Sep 2020 | 18.8% of 32 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Oct 2020 | 45.5% of 66 movements |
| Nov 2020 | 42.9% of 42 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Dec 2020 | 48.6% of 35 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Jan 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Feb 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Mar 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Apr 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| May 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Jun 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Jul 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Aug 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Sep 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Oct 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Nov 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Dec 2021 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Jan 2022 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Feb 2022 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Mar 2022 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Apr 2022 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| May 2022 | no data |
| Jun 2022 | no data |
| Jul 2022 | no data |
| Aug 2022 | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements |
| Sep 2022 | 34.4% of 32 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Oct 2022 | 50.0% of 34 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Nov 2022 | 47.1% of 34 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Dec 2022 | 69.0% of 42 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Jan 2023 | 70.6% of 34 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Feb 2023 | 47.4% of 38 movements — small sample, not ranked |
| Mar 2023 | 69.5% of 59 movements |
| Apr 2023 | 50.3% of 145 movements |
| May 2023 | 25.9% of 270 movements |
| Jun 2023 | 34.4% of 340 movements |
| Jul 2023 | 35.9% of 395 movements |
| Aug 2023 | 35.5% of 414 movements |
| Sep 2023 | 38.2% of 403 movements |
| Oct 2023 | 62.5% of 384 movements |
| Nov 2023 | 33.2% of 289 movements |
| Dec 2023 | 48.9% of 417 movements |
| Jan 2024 | 32.6% of 426 movements |
| Feb 2024 | 39.1% of 376 movements |
| Mar 2024 | 38.9% of 398 movements |
| Apr 2024 | 47.9% of 420 movements |
| May 2024 | 26.6% of 418 movements |
| Jun 2024 | 29.4% of 462 movements |
| Jul 2024 | 31.0% of 525 movements |
| Aug 2024 | 36.7% of 523 movements |
| Sep 2024 | 41.6% of 510 movements |
| Oct 2024 | 40.3% of 449 movements |
| Nov 2024 | 21.3% of 356 movements |
| Dec 2024 | 32.2% of 410 movements |
| Jan 2025 | 38.4% of 425 movements |
| Feb 2025 | 12.6% of 334 movements |
| Mar 2025 | 26.0% of 362 movements |
| Apr 2025 | 27.4% of 430 movements |
| May 2025 | 19.7% of 412 movements |
| Jun 2025 | 16.4% of 444 movements |
| Jul 2025 | 19.0% of 505 movements |
| Aug 2025 | 20.6% of 525 movements |
| Sep 2025 | 30.5% of 476 movements |
| Oct 2025 | 17.0% of 440 movements |
| Nov 2025 | 41.8% of 364 movements |
| Dec 2025 | 32.5% of 446 movements |
| Jan 2026 | 22.5% of 444 movements |
| Feb 2026 | 22.7% of 357 movements |
| Mar 2026 | 17.7% of 406 movements |
| Apr 2026 | 21.6% of 449 movements |
| May 2026 | 17.4% of 453 movements |
| Jun 2026 | 14.2% of 452 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.
| Event | Direction | Disruption that month | Baseline before | Return to baseline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pandemic regime · Jun 2020 | Arrivals | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements | no complete baseline | not enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month |
| Pandemic regime · Jun 2020 | Departures | 16.0% of 25 movements — small sample, not ranked | 23.6% across 3,390 flights | returned the next month |
| Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022 | Arrivals | no data | no complete baseline | not enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month |
| Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022 | Departures | suppressed: fewer than twenty movements | no complete baseline | not enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month |
| NATS system failure · Aug 2023 | Arrivals | 35.5% of 414 movements | no complete baseline | not enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month |
| NATS system failure · Aug 2023 | Departures | 28.7% of 415 movements | no complete baseline | not enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month |
| Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025 | Arrivals | 26.0% of 362 movements | 33.1% across 5,230 flights | returned the next month |
| Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025 | Departures | 7.1% of 364 movements | 17.6% across 5,247 flights | returned 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: Apr, 49.1% across 6 months. Lowest median: Jul, 19.0% across 5 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.
Month-by-month table: median, observed range and sample
| Month | Median | Observed range | Sample |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 29.8% | 15.6–70.6% | 6 months, 1,964 flights |
| Feb | 22.4% | 7.7–47.4% | 6 months, 1,659 flights |
| Mar | 33.3% | 17.7–69.5% | 6 months, 1,845 flights |
| Apr | 49.1% | 21.6–52.8% | 6 months, 2,102 flights |
| May | 26.2% | 17.4–42.2% | 6 months, 2,226 flights |
| Jun | 26.1% | 14.2–34.4% | 6 months, 2,388 flights |
| Jul | 19.0% | 17.5–35.9% | 5 months, 2,186 flights |
| Aug | 33.9% | 20.6–36.7% | 5 months, 2,225 flights |
| Sep | 34.3% | 26.4–41.6% | 6 months, 2,153 flights |
| Oct | 45.2% | 17.0–62.5% | 6 months, 2,042 flights |
| Nov | 34.6% | 18.3–47.1% | 6 months, 1,729 flights |
| Dec | 32.8% | 21.4–69.0% | 6 months, 2,041 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: LGW ↔ ZHENGZHOU-XINZHENG, 3.8% of 105 movements. Highest disruption: LHR ↔ QINGDAO, 45.9% of 111 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.
All route comparisons and sample flags
| Route | Disruption | Cancellations | Sample flag |
|---|---|---|---|
| LGW ↔ ZHENGZHOU-XINZHENG | 3.8% of 105 movements | no events in 105 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ WUHAN-TIANHE-INTERNATIONAL | 3.8% of 104 movements | no events in 104 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ CHENGDU-TIANFU | 4.0% of 150 movements | no events in 150 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ BEIJING-DAXING-INTERNATIONAL-AIRPORT | 9.6% of 365 movements | no events in 365 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ HAIKOU | 16.9% of 160 movements | no events in 160 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Gatwick ↔ Shanghai (Pu Dong) | 19.5% of 1,059 movements | no events in 1,059 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LGW ↔ GUANGZHOU-BAIYUN-INTERNATIONAL | 19.6% of 107 movements | no events in 107 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ GUANGZHOU-BAIYUN-INTERNATIONAL | 20.0% of 375 movements | no events in 375 movements | descriptive comparison |
| EDI ↔ BEIJING | 20.3% of 133 movements | 3.0% of 133 movements | descriptive comparison |
| MAN ↔ SHANGHAI-PU-DONG | 25.4% of 224 movements | no events in 224 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ TIANJIN | 25.5% of 145 movements | 0.7% of 145 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ SHENZHEN-HUANGTIAN | 25.8% of 240 movements | no events in 240 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LGW ↔ BEIJING | 26.0% of 258 movements | no events in 258 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Heathrow ↔ Shanghai (Pu Dong) | 27.7% of 714 movements | 0.4% of 714 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Heathrow ↔ Beijing | 28.0% of 721 movements | no events in 721 movements | descriptive comparison |
| MAN ↔ BEIJING | 39.6% of 303 movements | 2.3% of 303 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ QINGDAO | 45.9% of 111 movements | 0.9% of 111 movements | descriptive comparison |
| LHR ↔ CHONGQING-JIANGBEI-INTERNATIONAL | 28.9% of 38 movements — small sample, not ranked | 2.6% of 38 movements — small sample, not ranked | small 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?
4 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 airport | Disruption | Sample flag |
|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 20.3% of 133 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Gatwick | 19.7% of 1,534 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Heathrow | 22.7% of 3,123 movements | descriptive comparison |
| Manchester | 33.6% of 527 movements | descriptive 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
22.8% of 5,317 movements arrivals were disrupted, against 10.3% of 5,326 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
0.5% of 5,317 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
China appears from Jan 2018 to Jun 2026 with 25,516 arrivals.
The bounds describe the published record, not every commercial service. Final point is not necessarily a nonstop destination.
Archive route pairs: 54.
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?
22.8% of 5,317 movements over July 2025 to June 2026.
How often are they cancelled?
0.4% of 5,317 movements at short notice.
How late is late?
26.8–55.0 minutes; delayed denominator 1,195–2,260
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 complainDefinitions, 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.