Manchester Airport has once more been recognized because the UK’s worst for flight delays, prompting issues that travellers can’t ebook departing flights from the hub “with any actual confidence”.
Evaluation of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) knowledge reveals that flights from the nation’s third busiest airport had been, on common, 19-and-a-half minutes not on time in 2025.
This determine, regardless of a 30-second enchancment from 2025, positioned Manchester as having the longest delays amongst all UK airports.
Points reminiscent of air visitors management disruption and opposed climate can typically contribute to flight delays – components usually past the direct management of airport operations.
Rory Boland, the editor of the journal Which? Journey, stated that travellers’ selection of airport “shouldn’t make or break your journey”.
Nevertheless, “too many holidays bought off to a horrible begin final yr”, he stated.
“Manchester Airport has ranked final in our airport survey for 4 consecutive years and these new CAA figures validate why it is a notably poor place to be stranded throughout delays.
“For passengers already cautious of journey uncertainty, seeing such constant underperformance makes it troublesome to ebook with any actual confidence.”
Birmingham Airport had the second poorest flight punctuality in 2025, with a median delay of 18 minutes and 42 seconds.
In third place was Bournemouth Airport (17 minutes and 18 seconds).
Liverpool John Lennon Airport – lower than 30 miles from Manchester airport – had probably the most punctual flights, recording a median delay of simply 9 minutes and 24 seconds.
The evaluation took under consideration scheduled and chartered departures from the 23 business UK airports with not less than 1,000 outbound flights final yr. Cancellations weren’t included.
The typical delay for departures in 2025 was 14 minutes and 54 seconds, down from 18 minutes and 24 seconds in 2024.
Manchester is the UK’s solely two-runway airport aside from Heathrow, and was utilized by 32 million passengers in 2025.
Its scheme to revamp Terminal 3 is ongoing, whereas a 10-year £1.3 billion transformation which included modernising and doubling the scale of Terminal 2, and shutting Terminal 1, was lately accomplished.
A spokesperson for the airport stated: “Punctuality is affected by components which are outdoors of an airport’s management.
“The 2 most important components contributing to delays within the final yr have been industrial motion affecting air visitors management in Europe, and the climate.
“These had been exacerbated by airspace restrictions above battle zones that means airports with vital long-haul networks, like Manchester, had been extra considerably affected than others.
“As an business we’re working collectively to attain the absolute best on-time departure charges, whereas defending flight schedules and avoiding the necessity for cancellations.”
A spokesperson for Bournemouth Airport stated the explanation for delays are outdoors its management “within the majority of instances”, and it’s “one of many UK’s top-ranked regional airports for passenger satisfaction”.
Birmingham Airport didn’t reply to a request for a remark.
Relying on the gap of the route and size of delay, passengers booked on delayed flights from UK airports are entitled to help reminiscent of an inexpensive quantity of food and drinks, a method to speak and in a single day lodging if required.
Airways typically fail to offer this throughout main disruption as they’re overwhelmed by requests.
Passengers might also have the ability to declare compensation of as much as £520 from the airline if the explanation for the delay is deemed inside its management, which might be a fault with the plane or pilot illness.
ATC points are thought of to be an “extraordinary circumstance”, that means that affected passengers should not entitled to payouts.
Anna Bowles, head of shopper on the CAA, urged the aviation business to be “targeted on delivering punctual and dependable journeys for passengers wherever potential” and warned that delays have a “actual influence for folks heading off on holidays”.
She added: “When disruption happens, how the business responds actually issues.
“Passengers needs to be stored knowledgeable and given the care and help they’re entitled to.”
A spokesperson for commerce physique AirportsUK stated passengers are “benefitting from enhancements within the service they obtain”, and delays in 2025 had been “down considerably on the earlier yr”.
