Why are there delays at European airports?

Wildfires, air-traffic control shortages, strikes and the war in Ukraine have led to more delays than last year's summer of disruption. Your browser does not support the audio tag. This article is in your queue. LONDON—Last summer, flying in Europe was a nightmare.



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London Gatwick (LGW) This makes Gatwick the airport where you are most likely to be inconvenienced by delays and cancellations in Europe.

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10 Worst European Airports — Airports With Highest Percentage of Flight Disruptions
  • Warsaw Chopin Airport (WAW) ...
  • Vienna International Airport (VIE) ...
  • Madrid-Barajas International Airport (MAD) ...
  • Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN) ...
  • Stockholm Arlanda Airport (ARN) ...
  • Istanbul Havalimani Airport (IST) ...
  • Berlin Brandenburg Airport (BER)


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Beijing's airport has the worst punctuality record in the world. And Shanghai is close behind. Only 18 percent of flights took off from Beijing's Capital Airport on time in June, according to a just-released survey of the world's 35 busiest airports. And 42 percent of them left more than three quarters of an hour late.

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According to the Department of Transportation (DOT), there are tarmac delay rules that US airlines must follow: Carriers are not allowed to hold a domestic flight on the tarmac for more than three hours and an international flight for more than four hours, barring a couple of exceptions (like if the pilot deems it's ...

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For flights landing at U.S. airports, airlines are required to provide passengers with an opportunity to safely get off of the airplane before 3 hours for domestic flights and 4 hours for international flights.

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Lufthansa Airlines – 3.69 per cent, or 2,521 cancelled. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) – 3.4 per cent, or 812 cancelled flights. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines – 2.64 per cent, or 628 cancelled flights. Germany's Eurowings – 2.47 per cent, or 835 cancelled flights.

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Frontier Airlines has had the worst on-time arrival performance so far in 2023. Just 65.41% of Frontier flights arrived on time from January through April 2023.

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When a flight delay occurs, you are entitled to assistance and a choice between rerouting, reimbursement, or rebooking. If you arrive at your destination more than 3 hours after your scheduled arrival time, you are entitled to the same reimbursement, rerouting, and rebooking structure as a denied boarding.

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As part of the testing of a new aircraft, the manufacturer must demonstrate that all passengers can be evacuated in a short amount of time when an emergency arises - within 90 seconds to be precise. If it doesn't comply, the aviation authorities won't approve its safety certification.

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An altitude of 500 feet above the surface, except over open water or sparsely populated areas. In those cases, the aircraft may not be operated closer than 500 feet to any person, vessel, vehicle, or structure.

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Here are the airports with the highest percentages of flights delayed around the world:
  • Toronto Pearson International Airport: 51.9%
  • Montreal-Trudeau International Airport: 47.8%
  • Frankfurt International Airport: 44.5%
  • Humberto Delgado Airport (Lisbon): 43%
  • London Gatwick Airport: 42%


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J.F.K. Airport in New York tops the list with a combined average wait time of 48 minutes and 24 seconds. Following JFK is San Francisco International Airport (47:18) and Miami International Airport (45:54).

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Why are airports so chaotic right now? The main cause of the chaos was staff shortages. Aviation workers were made redundant during the pandemic and hadn't been replaced. Queues built up at airport security, check-in and passport control while luggage piled up with no one to handle it.

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These include:
  • Iran.
  • Lebanon.
  • Syria.
  • Iraq.
  • Pakistan.
  • Libya.
  • Tunisia.
  • Malaysia.


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The shortest flight in the world is a long-established air route between two of the Orkney Islands (Westray and Papa Westray) in Scotland. The distance is a mere 1.7 miles and with favorable winds, the actual flight often lasts less than a minute!

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