Birmingham Airport is the second worst airport in the UK for flight delays – new data suggests.
The ranking comes from a study by air passenger rights experts AirAdvisor, which analysed the percentage of flights departing more than 60 minutes late at the UK’s 20 busiest airports between September 30, 2025, and October 1, 2026.
Birmingham Airport saw 7.16 per cent of its departures delayed by more than an hour, just behind Manchester Airport, which topped the list with 7.73 per cent.
This placed Birmingham above other airports including Bournemouth (6.99 per cent), Southampton (6.94 per cent), and London Stansted (6.73 per cent).
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, said: “Flight punctuality at any individual airport is not necessarily an indication of an airport’s overall reliability.
“This is because factors sometimes completely outside of an airport’s control, like weather, particularly high winds and fog, can lead to disruption.”
He added that passengers do have certain protections in place when delays occur.
Mr Radchenko said: “The saving grace for travellers departing or arriving at a UK or EU airport, or with a British or EU-member state-based airline, is that both sets of governments have sophisticated legislation in place to protect air passengers affected by disruption.
“Under the British government’s UK261 regulation, if you arrive at your destination over three hours late, you may be due up to £520 in compensation, though the amount you can claim will depend on the distance of your journey.
“The EU’s 261 regulation mirrors this law, with a similar amount of compensation potentially up for grabs, if your claim is successful.
“Passengers affected by delays of over two hours have the right to claim food and drink vouchers from their airline while waiting at the airport.
“And if you are delayed overnight, you can seek a hotel stay and transport to and from your accommodation, paid for by your carrier.”
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The analysis found that London Heathrow recorded a significantly lower delay rate of 3.89 per cent, while Cardiff had the lowest at just 3.60 per cent.
Other airports with high rates of hour-plus delays included Edinburgh (6.51 per cent), Belfast International (6.01 per cent), and Leeds Bradford (5.98 per cent).
London Gatwick saw 5.58 per cent of departures delayed by more than 60 minutes.
