Stansted Airport Hits Back After Being Ranked Among UK's Worst for Flight Delays

London Stansted Airport has issued a robust defence after being ranked among the UK’s worst airports for Easter flight delays, insisting that the vast majority of disruptions are beyond its control.

The Essex airport was named joint third-worst in the country for delays during the busy April travel period, according to new analysis of official Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

Nearly Three in Ten Flights Delayed

Nearly three in ten flights departing the airport in April were delayed by more than 15 minutes, according to analysis by Locals Insider which examined more than 650,000 flights from Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data during four April periods between 2022 and 2025.

Stansted Airport recorded a 29.7 per cent delay rate, placing it third highest in the country, tied with London Luton Airport, whilst Birmingham topped the list with a 29.9 per cent delay rate, followed by Manchester at 29.8 per cent.

The analysis found that 57,454 flights departed Stansted during the periods studied. The research focused on April, one of the busiest months for air travel due to the Easter holiday period, when airports face significant operational pressures.

Airport Defends Record

In a strongly worded statement, Stansted pushed back against the findings, arguing that linking airports directly to delays is misleading to passengers.

“Punctuality of flights can be affected by a number of factors, most of which are outside of an airport’s control,” a London Stansted spokesperson said. “These include adverse weather, continental air traffic control issues including capacity restrictions, airspace restrictions and industrial action, particularly across Europe, airline crew shortages or delays to inbound flights.”

“As such, it is misleading to passengers to imply a link between airports and delays,” the spokesperson added.

The airport emphasised it is “committed to doing everything we can to support our airline partners to achieve the best possible on-time performance, and passengers can feel reassured that the vast majority of flights that leave London Stansted do so on time, and with the fewest number of cancellations of any major airport in the south-east.”

How Other London Airports Compare

Whilst Stansted featured prominently in the April delay rankings, other major London airports also faced significant disruption during the Easter period.

Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, saw 26.4 per cent of its 147,933 April departures delayed by more than 15 minutes, whilst Gatwick reported a 26 per cent delay rate out of 82,386 flights.

In contrast, Belfast City Airport was the most reliable, with only 17.6 per cent of its 8,263 April departures delayed.

Separate CAA data published in May 2026 examining annual departure delays across 2025 showed Stansted joint seventh with 15 minutes and 36 seconds on average delay time, placing it mid-table nationally rather than among the worst performers over the full year.

Advice for Travellers

“For anyone flying from Stansted this Easter, our advice would be to allow extra time for the journey, check flight status in the days before departure, and make sure everything is in order well ahead of arriving at the airport,” the Stansted spokesperson advised.

The airport’s response highlights an ongoing debate within the aviation industry about accountability when flights are delayed. Whilst airports control security queues, terminal facilities, and ground operations, many factors affecting punctuality—including air traffic control, weather conditions, and airline scheduling—fall outside their direct responsibility.

For passengers caught in delays, the cause often matters less than the disruption to travel plans, particularly during peak holiday periods when alternative arrangements can be costly and difficult to secure.

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