Christmas is a time to spend with family and friends. A number of people around the world make travel plans during the holiday season, either for visiting family or for a vacation. That said, holiday travelling in the UK can be highly stressful, especially when the flights are delayed. Disruptions and delays in flight plans can ruin your holiday plans, which is why it is important to plan your travel and avoid airports where most disruptions happen. Here is a list of airports in the UK which have the worst record for flight delays during the festive season.
Heathrow Airport
London’s Heathrow airport, which is Europe’s busiest and the World’s third busiest airport, tops the list for most delayed flights during Christmas time. According to a recent survey it has been revealed that Heathrow airport has the most flight delays with around 47% of all flights getting disrupted or delayed during the holiday season last year. Around 4050 flights of the 9521 flights that took off during Christmas were delayed, causing major trouble for hundreds of travellers.
Gatwick Airport
The second largest airport in the UK, London’s Gatwick airport is the second worst in terms of delayed flights during Christmas. The airport came close to Heathrow in terms of the percentage of flights delayed. Of the 4892 flights that departed from Gatwick, 45%, which is 2127 flights were delayed while 61 were cancelled during the holiday season last year. In terms of the percentage of flights delayed and cancelled, Gatwick came really close to London’s Heathrow airport.
Bristol
Bristol has the third worst record of flight delays and disruptions during the holiday season in the UK. Around 37% of the flights from this airport were delayed while 16 were cancelled. If you are making plans to travel away from the city, you’d be better driving or taking a train than flying. Even better is to avoid travelling during the holiday season as the roads are also packed with people going home or on a vacation.
Newcastle and Manchester
Newcastle and Manchester take the 4th and 5th spots for most flight delays during Christmas last year. Newcastle had around 261 flight delays of the 904 flights that departed and Manchester had 958 flights of the 2756 fights delayed during Christmas. In both the airports, the average delay was 36%, but Newcastle managed to get ahead of Manchester with just one flight cancelled. Manchester airport had 29 flights cancelled during the holiday season.
Travelling from London? Try Stansted
If you are trying to get out of London, you’d be better off taking a flight from the city’s Stansted airport rather than Heathrow or Gatwick. Stansted had an average flight delay of just 27%, while close to 50% flights were delayed in the other two airports. Also, make sure you check for specific airlines news or flights delay news to make alternative arrangements if needed. Also have a backup plan for your holiday season, just in case flight delays or cancellations ruin your travel plans.