Delays worsen as UK flight numbers grow

NEW research has revealed that flight delays are getting worse at nearly every major airport in the UK, highlighting the need to modernise the way the UK and Europe’s air space is managed.

Consumer association Which? analysed flight delay statistics for the last five years and found that 6.2% of all incoming and outgoing flights were delayed by more than an hour last year, up from 4% in 2014, though Which? notes delays are often out of the control of the airlines themselves.

Aircraft movements in the UK have increased from just over 1.5million in 2014 to 2.25m in 2018. “UK airspace has failed to keep pace with this surge in traffic,” says Which?.

“It hasn’t fundamentally changed since the 1950s and the CAA acknowledges that this is a reason for increased delays.”