The flights from Heathrow and Gatwick that are most likely to be delayed

There’s nothing worse than starting your holiday languishing in the airport waiting for a delayed flight, but some routes are particularly bad for punctuality.

Analysis of the latest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority reveals that 60% of British Airways flights from Heathrow to Dalaman were delayed by at least 15 minutes in the 12 months to April.

It’s the worst record of any route at the airport that saw more than 100 flights in the last year. Also high in the rankings, for delays at Heathrow, were British Airways flights from to Salonika, with 59% of flights delayed by at least 15 minutes last year.

Meanwhile, the most delayed routes from Gatwick were TUI flights to Malaga (55%), followed by TUI flights to Hurghada. With summer holidays just around the corner, s ee how likely flights to your destination will be delayed using our interactive gadget:

Heathrow

Destination - Airline - % of flights delayed by 15 minutes or more (12 months to April 2024)

• Dalaman - British Airways Plc - 60% delayed

• Salonika - British Airways Plc - 59% delayed

• Tokyo (Haneda) - All Nippon Airways - 58% delayed

• Chania - British Airways Plc - 57% delayed

• Addis Ababa - Ethiopian Airlines - 55% delayed

• Delhi - Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd - 55% delayed

• Tokyo (Haneda) - Japan Airlines - 54% delayed

• Male International - British Airways Plc - 53% delayed

• Thira (Santorini) - British Airways Plc - 52% delayed

• Philadelphia International - British Airways Plc - 52% delayed

Gatwick

Destination - Airline - % of flights delayed by 15 minutes or more (12 months to April 2024)

• Malaga - TUI Airways Ltd - 55% delayed

• Hurghada - TUI Airways Ltd - 54% delayed

• Sharm El Sheikh (Ophira) - TUI Airways Ltd - 54% delayed

• Port Of Spain - British Airways Plc - 52% delayed

• Oporto (Portugal) - Ba Euroflyer Ltd Dba British Airways - 52% delayed

• Ilha Do Sal C.Verde - TUI Airways Ltd - 52% delayed

• Boa Vista (Rabil) - TUI Airways Ltd - 52% delayed

• Tivat - EasyJet UK Ltd - 52% delayed

• Dubrovnik - BA EuroFlyer Ltd Dba British Airways - 51% delayed

• Fuerteventura - EasyJet UK Ltd - 49% delayed

However, it’s a different story when looking at which routes will keep you waiting the longest. British Airways flights from Heathrow to Islamabad have the worst record when it comes to average delay times at the airport.

While only 22% of flights on this route were delayed by 15 minutes or more in the year to April, they were delayed by an average of 77 minutes - more than an hour’s wait. Meanwhile, TUI flights to Larnaca saw the longest waits at Gatwick airport, with average delays of 67 minutes.

Heathrow

Destination - Airline - Average delay (12 months to April 2024)

• Islamabad International Airport - British Airways Plc - 77 minutes

• Tunis - Tunisair - 53 minutes

• Johannesburg - British Airways Plc - 51 minutes

• Chennai - British Airways Plc - 42 minutes

• Accra - British Airways Plc - 40 minutes

• Almaty - Air Astana - 40 minutes

• Mexico City - British Airways Plc - 37 minutes

• Zagreb - Croatia Airlines - 36 minutes

• Santiago De Chile - British Airways Plc - 36 minutes

• Dhakha - Biman Bangladesh Airlines - 36 minutes

Gatwick

Destination - Airline - Average delay (12 months to April 2024)

• Larnaca - TUI Airways Ltd - 67 minutes

• Tunis - Tunisair - 66 minutes

• Antalya - Freebird Airlines - 63 minutes

• Antalya - TUI Airways Ltd - 59 minutes

• Dalaman - Wizz Air UK Ltd - 58 minutes

• Dalaman - TUI Airways Ltd - 56 minutes

• Goa International - Air India - 54 minutes

• Ahmedabad - Air India - 54 minutes

• Tunis - Nouvelair Tunisie - 54 minutes

• Jeddah - Saudi Arabian Airlines - 52 minutes

The only thing worse than a delayed flight is a cancelled one, but thankfully these are generally rare at both Heathrow and Gatwick airport.

Virgin Atlantic flights to Tel Aviv were the most likely to be cancelled at Heathrow last year, with 18% of flights on this route scrapped between May 2023 and April 2024. Meanwhile at Gatwick, British Airways flights to JFK airport in New York were the most likely to be cancelled, at 13%.

Heathrow

Destination - Airline - % of flights cancelled (12 months to April 2024)

• Tel Aviv - Virgin Atlantic Airways Ltd - 22 minutes - 18% cancelled

• Tel Aviv - British Airways Plc - 33 minutes - 7% cancelled

• Baltimore - British Airways Plc - 28 minutes - 6% cancelled

• Boston - United Airlines - 14 minutes - 6% cancelled

• Tokyo (Haneda) - British Airways Plc - 20 minutes - 5% cancelled

• New York (Newark) - British Airways Plc - 17 minutes - 5% cancelled

• Miami International - British Airways Plc - 33 minutes - 5% cancelled

• Amsterdam - KLM - 13 minutes - 5% cancelled

• Frankfurt Main - Lufthansa - 17 minutes - 5% cancelled

• San Jose - British Airways Plc - 31 minutes - 4% cancelled

Gatwick

Destination - Airline - % of flights cancelled (12 months to April 2024)

• New York (JF Kennedy) - British Airways Plc - 25 minutes - 13% cancelled

• Newquay - Eastern Airways - 17 minutes - 10% cancelled

• Catania (Fontanarossa) - EasyJet UK Ltd - 21 minutes - 9% cancelled

• Tel Aviv - Wizz Air UK Ltd - 51 minutes - 8% cancelled

• Las Vegas - British Airways Plc - 35 minutes - 6% cancelled

• Mauritius - Air Mauritius Ltd - 29 minutes - 6% cancelled

• Hamburg - EasyJet UK Ltd - 25 minutes - 6% cancelled

• New York (JF Kennedy) - Delta Airlines - 24 minutes - 5% cancelled

• Isle Of Man - EasyJet UK Ltd - 23 minutes - 5% cancelled

• Guernsey - Aurigny Air Services - 25 minutes - 4% cancelled

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