Liverpool Airport outperforms Manchester again as worst UK airports for delayed flights revealed - full list

Liverpool Airport has outperformed Manchester once again, having the second shortest flight delays in the UK.

Departures from Manchester Airport, which sees more than 20 million passengers, were an average of 21 minutes and 54 seconds behind schedule, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data. The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures from the 22 commercial UK airports with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year. Cancellations were not included.

Ranking third-worst, Manchester’s delays were still five minutes shorter than Gatwick, which had the highest average delay time of 26 minutes and 54 seconds. Liverpool, on the other hand, had the second shortest average delay time of 13 minutes and 24 seconds, coming just behind Belfast City, which had delays of 12 minutes and 30 seconds.

Liverpool John Lennon Airport is often praised for its service, and was named the best UK airport by Which? last year. Passengers praised the quick queues and one traveller said it was a ‘well run, efficient airport’ while another lauded it as their ‘preferred’ airport.

Discussing the recent delays data, a spokesperson for Manchester Airport said the ‘analysis ignores important context’, noting that ‘punctuality can be affected by a number of factors, most of which are outside of an airport’s control’.

They added: “The two most significant factors contributing to delays in the last year have been industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe and the weather. Last month, 79.8% of flights from Manchester Airport took off on time, comfortably above the national average of 67%. As an industry we are working collectively to achieve the best possible on-time departure rates, while protecting flight schedules and avoiding the need for cancellations.”

Worst UK airports for delayed flights

1. Gatwick (26 minutes and 54 seconds)

2. Luton (22 minutes and 54 seconds)

3. Manchester (21 minutes and 54 seconds)

4. Edinburgh (21 minutes and 48 seconds)

5. Birmingham (21 minutes and 30 seconds)

6. Bristol (20 minutes and 24 seconds) and Bournemouth (20 minutes and 24 seconds)

8. Heathrow (20 minutes)

9. Newcastle (19 minutes and 48 seconds)

10. Belfast International (19 minutes and 18 seconds)

11. Stansted (19 minutes and six seconds)

12. Aberdeen (17 minutes and 42 seconds)

13. Southampton (17 minutes and six seconds)

14. Leeds Bradford (16 minutes and 54 seconds) and Cardiff Wales (16 minutes and 54 seconds)

16. Teesside International Airport (16 minutes and 48 seconds)

17. Glasgow (16 minutes and 36 seconds)

18. Exeter (15 minutes and 42 seconds)

19. London City (15 minutes and 36 seconds)

20. East Midlands International (15 minutes and 18 seconds)

21. Liverpool (John Lennon) (13 minutes and 24 seconds)

22. Belfast City (George Best) (12 minutes and 30 seconds)