UK FLIGHT DELAY INDEX

derived from CAA punctuality statistics for UK reporting airports

How often are these flights late or cancelled?

EDI ↔ ALICANTE

In the twelve months from July 2025 to June 2026, 32.8% of 751 movements arriving into EDI were disrupted — that is, they landed more than fifteen minutes late or were cancelled at short notice.

Put the other way round, 67.2% of 751 movements arrived on time by the industry's fifteen-minute standard. Severe delays were rarer: about one arrival in every 376 crossed the three-hour mark. Lower is better on every figure on this page. These numbers describe what happened on the route; they are not a prediction for any individual flight.

Definitions, denominators and limits
  • “Disrupted” means an arrival more than fifteen minutes late or a short-notice cancellation. The denominator is operated movements plus short-notice cancellations.
  • Arrivals into the UK airport only; all published carriers.
  • Crossing three hours is one condition for compensation, but monthly data cannot establish any individual passenger’s rights.
  • Delay cause is not published in the open data.
  • Source: CAA punctuality statistics · snapshot 17/08/2026 10:24 · method route-record-v2.1.

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

In the twelve months from July 2025 to June 2026, 32.8% of 751 movements were disrupted and no events in 751 movements were cancelled at short notice.

When a flight was late, it was typically late by the range shown below. The delay is given as a range, not a single number, because the regulator rounds its published percentages and never says how many flights landed exactly on time.

Disruption shareShort-notice cancellationsAverage delay among delayed flights only — boundsOperations
32.8% of 751 movementsno events in 751 movements30.5–58.7 min; N of delayed flights=246–449751
Definitions, denominators and limits

The bounds account for CAA rounding and the unknown number of zero delays. A point average across all operated movements, including punctual ones, would answer a different question and is not used here.

When it is late, how late is it?

Most delays here are short. The ladder below shows how many arrivals crossed each threshold, from a quarter of an hour up to six hours; each rung can only be smaller than the one above it.

Cancellations are counted separately: no events in 751 movements. “One in N” means how many arrivals you would typically see between events at that level.

Delay threshold ladder; count and share of known operations15 min32.8%30 min20.4%60 min8.3%120 min2.0%180 min0.3%360 min0.1%
Delay ladder table: share, movements and one-in-N
DelayShare and nMovementsOne delay in every N operations
>15 min32.8% of 751 movements2463.1
>30 min20.4% of 751 movements1534.9
>60 min8.3% of 751 movements6212.1
>120 min2.0% of 751 movements1550.1
>180 min0.3% of 751 movements2375.5
>360 min0.1% of 751 movements1751.0
Definitions, denominators and limits

CAA counts delays strictly greater than each threshold, so exactly three hours is inseparable from the previous bucket. The ladder describes the archive, not a forecast.

Slightly late, or occasionally a disaster?

When this route runs late, it is usually only a little late: big blow-ups are rarer here than on the typical UK route.

The histogram below counts every recorded arrival, from more than fifteen minutes early through to more than six hours late. A tall bar near the middle and a thin right-hand tail is the healthy shape.

Nine delay buckets, minutes; share of all recorded operations>15 early10914.5%15–1 early19325.7%0–15 late20327.0%16–309312.4%31–609112.1%61…120476.3%121…180131.7%181…36010.1%>36010.1%D=751
Definitions, denominators and limits

Ratio of the long tail to sixteen-to-sixty-minute delays: 0.0109; corpus median 0.0217; 2056 routes in the corpus. The shape is compared conditionally among delays; the class name does not measure absolute frequency. Histogram counts and shares cover all recorded operations including unmatched records; reconstructed uniquely.

Has this route got better or worse since 2018?

Best month: Apr 2018, 7.7% of 52 movements. Worst month: Jul 2023, 62.7% of 67 movements.

The line traces every month in the archive; lower is better. Gaps are months with no published data, never zeros. The 2020 and 2021 readings reflect the pandemic, not normal service.

Monthly disruption share; gaps mean no published dataJan 2018: 15.8%; sample: 382018Feb 2018: 9.4%; sample: 32Mar 2018: 19.0%; sample: 42Apr 2018: 7.7%; sample: 52May 2018: 18.2%; sample: 55Jun 2018: 27.4%; sample: 62Jul 2018: 21.9%; sample: 64Aug 2018: 20.6%; sample: 63Sep 2018: 22.0%; sample: 59Oct 2018: 13.6%; sample: 59Nov 2018: 8.9%; sample: 45Dec 2018: 10.3%; sample: 39Jan 2019: 11.9%; sample: 422019Feb 2019: 5.6%; sample: 36Mar 2019: 15.2%; sample: 46Apr 2019: 25.5%; sample: 55May 2019: 25.4%; sample: 63Jun 2019: 21.9%; sample: 64Jul 2019: 31.8%; sample: 66Aug 2019: 18.0%; sample: 61Sep 2019: 32.8%; sample: 64Oct 2019: 19.6%; sample: 56Nov 2019: 6.4%; sample: 47Dec 2019: 17.0%; sample: 47Jan 2020: 18.6%; sample: 432020Feb 2020: 28.2%; sample: 39Mar 2020: 17.9%; sample: 28Apr 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×May 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Jun 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Jul 2020: 5.0%; sample: 20Aug 2020: 12.1%; sample: 33Sep 2020: 8.7%; sample: 23Oct 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Nov 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Dec 2020: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Jan 2021: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×2021Feb 2021: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Mar 2021: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Apr 2021: no data×May 2021: no data×Jun 2021: suppressed: fewer than twenty movements×Jul 2021: 5.0%; sample: 20Aug 2021: 7.4%; sample: 27Sep 2021: 8.1%; sample: 37Oct 2021: 9.8%; sample: 41Nov 2021: 3.6%; sample: 28Dec 2021: 11.1%; sample: 27Jan 2022: 9.1%; sample: 222022Feb 2022: 37.5%; sample: 24Mar 2022: 13.3%; sample: 30Apr 2022: 29.8%; sample: 57May 2022: 31.8%; sample: 66Jun 2022: 42.6%; sample: 68Jul 2022: 53.7%; sample: 67Aug 2022: 35.1%; sample: 57Sep 2022: 46.3%; sample: 67Oct 2022: 34.7%; sample: 72Nov 2022: 10.3%; sample: 58Dec 2022: 26.4%; sample: 53Jan 2023: 18.0%; sample: 502023Feb 2023: 10.6%; sample: 47Mar 2023: 27.8%; sample: 54Apr 2023: 33.8%; sample: 65May 2023: 29.9%; sample: 67Jun 2023: 43.9%; sample: 66Jul 2023: 62.7%; sample: 67Aug 2023: 43.1%; sample: 58Sep 2023: 46.0%; sample: 63Oct 2023: 36.8%; sample: 68Nov 2023: 38.0%; sample: 50Dec 2023: 23.5%; sample: 51Jan 2024: 18.2%; sample: 442024Feb 2024: 13.3%; sample: 45Mar 2024: 24.6%; sample: 61Apr 2024: 34.4%; sample: 64May 2024: 44.3%; sample: 61Jun 2024: 46.7%; sample: 60Jul 2024: 47.8%; sample: 67Aug 2024: 26.5%; sample: 68Sep 2024: 51.6%; sample: 64Oct 2024: 44.8%; sample: 67Nov 2024: 22.0%; sample: 59Dec 2024: 34.5%; sample: 55Jan 2025: 35.4%; sample: 482025Feb 2025: 15.9%; sample: 44Mar 2025: 16.4%; sample: 67Apr 2025: 23.4%; sample: 64May 2025: 34.8%; sample: 66Jun 2025: 55.0%; sample: 60Jul 2025: 48.3%; sample: 60Aug 2025: 41.4%; sample: 58Sep 2025: 53.3%; sample: 60Oct 2025: 41.3%; sample: 63Nov 2025: 16.7%; sample: 60Dec 2025: 14.3%; sample: 56Jan 2026: 15.6%; sample: 452026Feb 2026: 17.3%; sample: 52Mar 2026: 32.9%; sample: 70Apr 2026: 29.9%; sample: 77May 2026: 26.0%; sample: 77Jun 2026: 47.9%; sample: 73Pandemic regime Jun 2020Summer 2022 breakdown Jul 2022NATS system failure Aug 2023Heathrow fire closure Mar 2025100%0%
Every month since 2018, including gaps and suppressed cells
MonthDisruption on arrivals
Jan 201815.8% of 38 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 20189.4% of 32 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 201819.0% of 42 movements — small sample, not ranked
Apr 20187.7% of 52 movements
May 201818.2% of 55 movements
Jun 201827.4% of 62 movements
Jul 201821.9% of 64 movements
Aug 201820.6% of 63 movements
Sep 201822.0% of 59 movements
Oct 201813.6% of 59 movements
Nov 20188.9% of 45 movements — small sample, not ranked
Dec 201810.3% of 39 movements — small sample, not ranked
Jan 201911.9% of 42 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 20195.6% of 36 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 201915.2% of 46 movements — small sample, not ranked
Apr 201925.5% of 55 movements
May 201925.4% of 63 movements
Jun 201921.9% of 64 movements
Jul 201931.8% of 66 movements
Aug 201918.0% of 61 movements
Sep 201932.8% of 64 movements
Oct 201919.6% of 56 movements
Nov 20196.4% of 47 movements — small sample, not ranked
Dec 201917.0% of 47 movements — small sample, not ranked
Jan 202018.6% of 43 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202028.2% of 39 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202017.9% of 28 movements — small sample, not ranked
Apr 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
May 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Jun 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Jul 20205.0% of 20 movements — small sample, not ranked
Aug 202012.1% of 33 movements — small sample, not ranked
Sep 20208.7% of 23 movements — small sample, not ranked
Oct 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Nov 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Dec 2020suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Jan 2021suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Feb 2021suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Mar 2021suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Apr 2021no data
May 2021no data
Jun 2021suppressed: fewer than twenty movements
Jul 20215.0% of 20 movements — small sample, not ranked
Aug 20217.4% of 27 movements — small sample, not ranked
Sep 20218.1% of 37 movements — small sample, not ranked
Oct 20219.8% of 41 movements — small sample, not ranked
Nov 20213.6% of 28 movements — small sample, not ranked
Dec 202111.1% of 27 movements — small sample, not ranked
Jan 20229.1% of 22 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202237.5% of 24 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202213.3% of 30 movements — small sample, not ranked
Apr 202229.8% of 57 movements
May 202231.8% of 66 movements
Jun 202242.6% of 68 movements
Jul 202253.7% of 67 movements
Aug 202235.1% of 57 movements
Sep 202246.3% of 67 movements
Oct 202234.7% of 72 movements
Nov 202210.3% of 58 movements
Dec 202226.4% of 53 movements
Jan 202318.0% of 50 movements
Feb 202310.6% of 47 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202327.8% of 54 movements
Apr 202333.8% of 65 movements
May 202329.9% of 67 movements
Jun 202343.9% of 66 movements
Jul 202362.7% of 67 movements
Aug 202343.1% of 58 movements
Sep 202346.0% of 63 movements
Oct 202336.8% of 68 movements
Nov 202338.0% of 50 movements
Dec 202323.5% of 51 movements
Jan 202418.2% of 44 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202413.3% of 45 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202424.6% of 61 movements
Apr 202434.4% of 64 movements
May 202444.3% of 61 movements
Jun 202446.7% of 60 movements
Jul 202447.8% of 67 movements
Aug 202426.5% of 68 movements
Sep 202451.6% of 64 movements
Oct 202444.8% of 67 movements
Nov 202422.0% of 59 movements
Dec 202434.5% of 55 movements
Jan 202535.4% of 48 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202515.9% of 44 movements — small sample, not ranked
Mar 202516.4% of 67 movements
Apr 202523.4% of 64 movements
May 202534.8% of 66 movements
Jun 202555.0% of 60 movements
Jul 202548.3% of 60 movements
Aug 202541.4% of 58 movements
Sep 202553.3% of 60 movements
Oct 202541.3% of 63 movements
Nov 202516.7% of 60 movements
Dec 202514.3% of 56 movements
Jan 202615.6% of 45 movements — small sample, not ranked
Feb 202617.3% of 52 movements
Mar 202632.9% of 70 movements
Apr 202629.9% of 77 movements
May 202626.0% of 77 movements
Jun 202647.9% of 73 movements

What did the big disruptions actually do here?

Each named event below is shown against this route’s own baseline for the twelve months before it, and against how long the route took to get back to that baseline.

A month worse than baseline is not proof the named event caused it: the open data carry no delay-cause field at all. Some events sit near the edge of the archive, which limits how long a recovery can be traced.

EventDirectionDisruption that monthBaseline beforeReturn to baseline
Pandemic regime · Jun 2020Arrivalssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Pandemic regime · Jun 2020Departuressuppressed: fewer than twenty movementsno complete baselinenot enough data: needs a complete baseline and a publishable event month
Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022Arrivals53.7% of 67 movements17.4% across 447 flightsreturned after 4 months
Summer 2022 breakdown · Jul 2022Departures47.8% of 67 movements17.5% across 448 flightsreturned after 4 months
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Arrivals43.1% of 58 movements31.6% across 723 flightsreturned after 4 months
NATS system failure · Aug 2023Departures34.5% of 58 movements27.5% across 721 flightsreturned after 3 months
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Arrivals16.4% of 67 movements35.7% across 718 flightsreturned the next month
Heathrow fire closure · Mar 2025Departures11.9% of 67 movements23.4% across 714 flightsreturned the next month
Definitions, denominators and limits

The baseline is the unweighted mean share over the twelve preceding calendar months. The return window is the following eight months, up to the end of the archive. Return means the first observed value at or below the baseline; it is not the duration of the disruption itself. If the event month is already below the baseline, counting still starts the month after. Gaps and suppressed cells are not treated as zeros or as recovery.

Which time of year has historically been hardest?

July has historically been the hardest month on this route: in a typical July, 48.0% of arrivals were disrupted, measured across 6 Julys in the archive. February has been the calmest, at 13.3% across 7 Februarys.

Even July has ranged from 21.9% to 62.7% in different years, so this is a record of what happened, not a forecast of what will. Lower is better throughout.

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 nJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec201911.9% of 42 movements †5.6% of 36 movements †15.2% of 46 movements †25.5% of 55 movements25.4% of 63 movements21.9% of 64 movements31.8% of 66 movements18.0% of 61 movements32.8% of 64 movements19.6% of 56 movements6.4% of 47 movements †17.0% of 47 movements †202018.6% of 43 movements †28.2% of 39 movements †17.9% of 28 movements †suppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movements5.0% of 20 movements †12.1% of 33 movements †8.7% of 23 movements †suppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movements2021suppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementsno datano datasuppressed: fewer than twenty movements5.0% of 20 movements †7.4% of 27 movements †8.1% of 37 movements †9.8% of 41 movements †3.6% of 28 movements †11.1% of 27 movements †20229.1% of 22 movements †37.5% of 24 movements †13.3% of 30 movements †29.8% of 57 movements31.8% of 66 movements42.6% of 68 movements53.7% of 67 movements35.1% of 57 movements46.3% of 67 movements34.7% of 72 movements10.3% of 58 movements26.4% of 53 movements202318.0% of 50 movements10.6% of 47 movements †27.8% of 54 movements33.8% of 65 movements29.9% of 67 movements43.9% of 66 movements62.7% of 67 movements43.1% of 58 movements46.0% of 63 movements36.8% of 68 movements38.0% of 50 movements23.5% of 51 movements202418.2% of 44 movements †13.3% of 45 movements †24.6% of 61 movements34.4% of 64 movements44.3% of 61 movements46.7% of 60 movements47.8% of 67 movements26.5% of 68 movements51.6% of 64 movements44.8% of 67 movements22.0% of 59 movements34.5% of 55 movements202535.4% of 48 movements †15.9% of 44 movements †16.4% of 67 movements23.4% of 64 movements34.8% of 66 movements55.0% of 60 movements48.3% of 60 movements41.4% of 58 movements53.3% of 60 movements41.3% of 63 movements16.7% of 60 movements14.3% of 56 movements202615.6% of 45 movements †17.3% of 52 movements32.9% of 70 movements29.9% of 77 movements26.0% of 77 movements47.9% of 73 movementsno datano datano datano datano datano data
Month-by-month table: median, observed range and sample
MonthMedianObserved rangeSample
Jan15.8%9.1–35.4%7 months, 289 flights
Feb13.3%5.6–37.5%7 months, 280 flights
Mar19.0%13.3–32.9%7 months, 370 flights
Apr29.8%7.7–34.4%7 months, 434 flights
May29.9%18.2–44.3%7 months, 455 flights
Jun43.9%21.9–55.0%7 months, 453 flights
Jul48.0%21.9–62.7%6 months, 391 flights
Aug30.8%18.0–43.1%6 months, 365 flights
Sep46.2%22.0–53.3%6 months, 377 flights
Oct35.7%13.6–44.8%6 months, 385 flights
Nov13.5%6.4–38.0%6 months, 319 flights
Dec20.3%10.3–34.5%6 months, 301 flights
Definitions, denominators and limits

The matrix shows the last eight calendar years, including an incomplete final year; the start of the archive is kept in the history above. Seasonal summaries use the whole available archive, excluding the pandemic regime 2020–2021; this is an observed range, not a forecast. Zero events, missing data and suppressed cells are marked separately. † marks a small sample, described but not ranked. For ranges the colour follows the upper bound.

Which airline has the better record here?

On the published record there is no clear winner: Ryanair 26.5% of 351 movements, Easyjet Uk 33.3% of 171 movements, Jet2.Com 42.3% of 213 movements. Observed shares differ; the mix of operations is not matched, so no causal conclusion follows.

Figures cover arrivals, July 2025 to June 2026; lower is better in every column. Carriers with fewer than twenty published flights are suppressed rather than shown as zero. The page makes no ranking: the operations behind these shares are not matched for aircraft, time of day or season.

Observed disruption share by optionEasyjet Uk33.3% of 171 flightsJet2.Com42.3% of 213 flightsRyanair26.5% of 351 flights
Airline comparison table: operations, cancellations, three-hour delays and data quality
AirlineOperationsDisruptionCancellations>180 minData quality
Easyjet Airlinesuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Easyjet Europesuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Easyjet Uk17133.3% of 171 movementsno events in 171 movements0.6% of 171 movementsdescriptive comparison
Jet2.Com21342.3% of 213 movementsno events in 213 movementsno events in 213 movementsdescriptive comparison
Norwegian Air Internationalsuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Ryanair35126.5% of 351 movementsno events in 351 movements0.3% of 351 movementsdescriptive comparison
Ryanair Uksuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Vueling Airlinessuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed

The noise check is a descriptive approximation assuming independent operations. Delay correlation and mix differences are not estimated; no ranking is derived.

Would another UK airport have been better?

Among UK airports flying to this city with enough flights to publish, ABZ had the lowest disruption share at 9.8% of 163 movements and MAN the highest at 41.7% of 2,640 movements. This route sits at 32.8% of 751 movements.

Each figure is arrivals into that UK airport, all carriers combined, over the same twelve months. It is a historical record, not a recommendation about where to fly from, and it says nothing about getting to or from each airport on the ground.

Observed disruption share by optionAbz ↔ Alicante9.8% of 163 flightsBfs ↔ Alicante22.7% of 917 flightsBhx ↔ Alicante27.9% of 1,350 flightsBoh ↔ Alicante25.7% of 408 flightsBrs ↔ Alicante22.4% of 1,558 flightsCwl ↔ Alicante31.7% of 426 flightsEma ↔ Alicante25.7% of 1,077 flightsExt ↔ Alicante18.8% of 165 flights
Airport comparison table: operations, cancellations, three-hour delays and data quality
Other UK airport to the same cityOperationsDisruptionCancellations>180 minData quality
Abz ↔ Alicante1639.8% of 163 movementsno events in 163 movementsno events in 163 movementsdescriptive comparison
Bfs ↔ Alicante91722.7% of 917 movements0.2% of 917 movements0.9% of 917 movementsdescriptive comparison
Bhd ↔ Alicantesuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Bhx ↔ Alicante1,35027.9% of 1,350 movements0.2% of 1,350 movements0.7% of 1,350 movementsdescriptive comparison
Boh ↔ Alicante40825.7% of 408 movements0.2% of 408 movementsno events in 408 movementsdescriptive comparison
Brs ↔ Alicante1,55822.4% of 1,558 movements0.2% of 1,558 movements0.7% of 1,558 movementsdescriptive comparison
Cwl ↔ Alicante42631.7% of 426 movementsno events in 426 movementsno events in 426 movementsdescriptive comparison
Doncaster-Sheffield ↔ Alicantesuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Ema ↔ Alicante1,07725.7% of 1,077 movements0.1% of 1,077 movements0.7% of 1,077 movementsdescriptive comparison
Ext ↔ Alicante16518.8% of 165 movementsno events in 165 movements1.2% of 165 movementsdescriptive comparison
Gla ↔ Alicante81522.8% of 815 movements0.5% of 815 movements0.5% of 815 movementsdescriptive comparison
Lba ↔ Alicante1,24425.9% of 1,244 movements0.6% of 1,244 movements0.4% of 1,244 movementsdescriptive comparison
Lgw ↔ Alicante2,76030.2% of 2,760 movements0.1% of 2,760 movements0.5% of 2,760 movementsdescriptive comparison
Lhr ↔ Alicantesuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed: fewer than twenty movementssuppressed
Lpl ↔ Alicante1,26521.3% of 1,265 movements0.6% of 1,265 movements0.5% of 1,265 movementsdescriptive comparison
Ltn ↔ Alicante1,26332.9% of 1,263 movements0.1% of 1,263 movements0.6% of 1,263 movementsdescriptive comparison
Man ↔ Alicante2,64041.7% of 2,640 movements0.1% of 2,640 movements0.6% of 2,640 movementsdescriptive comparison
Mme ↔ Alicante15724.8% of 157 movementsno events in 157 movementsno events in 157 movementsdescriptive comparison
Ncl ↔ Alicante1,02225.7% of 1,022 movements0.4% of 1,022 movements0.3% of 1,022 movementsdescriptive comparison
Sen ↔ Alicante23831.5% of 238 movements0.8% of 238 movements0.8% of 238 movementsdescriptive comparison
Sou ↔ Alicante10925.7% of 109 movements4.6% of 109 movements2.8% of 109 movementsdescriptive comparison
Stn ↔ Alicante1,52830.4% of 1,528 movements0.1% of 1,528 movements0.7% of 1,528 movementsdescriptive comparison

Does the direction you are flying change anything?

Yes: arrivals into EDI ran 32.8% of 751 movements disrupted, departures 23.9% of 748 movements.

It matters legally as well as practically: a departure from the UK and an arrival into the UK on a UK or EU carrier fall under different conditions, and a departure delay does not establish a late arrival at your final destination.

Arrivals and departures side by side
DirectionDisruptionCancellationsOver three hours
Arrivals into EDI32.8% of 751 movementsno events in 751 movements0.3% of 751 movements
Departures from EDI23.9% of 748 movementsno events in 748 movements0.4% of 748 movements
Definitions, denominators and limits

CAA conditions on delays and cancellations.

How many flights here crossed the three-hour mark?

The table below counts arrivals and departures that ran more than three hours late — the threshold that is one of the conditions for compensation — across the whole archive and within the last six years.

The pound figure beside each count is arithmetic, not money anyone received: it is the count multiplied by the maximum statutory amount for this distance band. Whether any of those flights actually qualified is not knowable from this data.

DirectionWindowFlights over three hoursArithmetic statutory ceiling
ArrivalsWhole archive · Jan 2018–Jun 202629 flights out of 4,83629 × £350 = £10,150
ArrivalsLast 72 months · Jul 2020–Jun 202622 flights out of 3,46622 × £350 = £7,700
DeparturesWhole archive · Jan 2018–Jun 202615 flights out of 4,82015 × £350 = £5,250
DeparturesLast 72 months · Jul 2020–Jun 202611 flights out of 3,45711 × £350 = £3,850
Definitions, denominators and limits

Full formula: the count is the sum of the two tail buckets across months, carriers and service types in one direction; the ceiling is that count multiplied by the maximum statutory amount for the distance band. The condition is: if every such delay had been the carrier's fault and a claim had been filed on every one of them.

This is conditional arithmetic over operations: passenger numbers, legal applicability and the number of claims are all unknown. For departures it is an arithmetic scenario only, because arrival at the final point is not observed. For long routes the maximum ceiling is used; any reduction in the payable amount is not calculated.

The archive window is counted from the last month of data, not from today: this is not a limitation check for an individual case. The CAA states six years for England and Wales and five for Scotland. CAA: time limits and how to complain. Information, not a legal service.

The facts about this route

Route reference table: codes, distance, frequency, archive span
FieldValue
UK airportEDINBURGH · EDI
Final point / countryALICANTE / SPAIN
Final point codesALC / LEAL
Great-circle distance1,976 km
Maximum statutory amount for the band£350
Average operated arrivals per day2.06
Presence in the latest twelve-month windowoperations present in every month of the latest twelve-month window
First and last active monthJan 2018–Jun 2026
Months with operations in the archive96

origin_destination is the final point of the CAA service, not evidence of a nonstop connection. The distance joins the coordinates of the named airports; the actual track is unknown. Frequency describes published operations.

What this data cannot tell you

Delay cause is not published in the regulator's open data. Monthly aggregates describe a population, not a specific flight. Cells below twenty operations are suppressed; twenty to forty-nine are descriptive only and not ranked. Arrivals and departures do not add up. Cancellations are short-notice only, by the CAA definition. A movement is not the same as a scheduled flight.

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.

Data-quality counters for this route

Zero observed events does not mean zero risk. Operator coverage against the Summary file is not established in this record; comparisons are limited to the published population.

Unmatched records: 0; all recorded operations: 751; excluded by quarantine: 0.

Quick answers

How often is this route disrupted?

32.8% of 751 movements over July 2025 to June 2026. Arrivals into the UK airport; all published carriers.

How many flights are cancelled at short notice?

no events in 751 movements in the same window.

How many delays crossed three hours?

0.3% of 751 movements in the same window; these are observed movements, not a count of claims.

What does the delay distribution look like?

chronically slightly late. The class compares the tail with short delays across routes in the corpus.

What distance is used?

1,976 km, great-circle.

Can compensation entitlement be established here?

No. The cause and the circumstances of an individual flight are unknown. Official CAA conditions.

Why do some cells say "no data"?

That month is absent from the published series. Small cells carry a separate "suppressed" marker; a gap is never replaced by a zero.

How this was calculated

Dataset version, input hashes and reconstruction rules

Dataset version: 396da8dde2874f14; method route-record-v2.1.

Versioned register of every number and the entity map · Input hashes · Correction log · Reconstruction and formulas.

Reconstruction: integer counts inside the rounding bounds of shares of D, summing to M. Ambiguity is preserved as a range of feasible counts; non-convergence stays in quarantine. The map of codes and coordinates is pinned by hash alongside the data. Raw CSV files are not included in the published output.

Your trip has already gone wrong — what now?

The official route to complain

Contact the airline first, then the relevant ADR body or the CAA. The right to care is assessed separately from compensation; time limits and circumstances are checked case by case. CAA: how to complain.

Reconstruction and formulas

Open the versioned claim register

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