A general view of Birmingham Airport's entrance(Image: BPM Media)
Birmingham Airport was among the worst in the UK for flight delays last year, according to analysis of official figures.
Passengers faced an average extra wait for take-off of 18 minutes and 42 seconds, the Press Association said after reviewing Civil Aviation Authority data for 2025.
That performance was Britain's second-worst and better than only Manchester, which clocked an average delay of 19 minutes and 30 seconds.
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Regional rival East Midlands Airport performed much better, with an average delay time of just 11 minutes and 48 seconds, the fourth-best result in the UK.
Birmingham Airport did not respond to the Press Association's request for a comment.
Flight delays are often caused by issues outside the control of airports, such as air traffic control (ATC) disruption and bad weather.
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said the choice of airport “shouldn’t make or break your trip” but “too many holidays got off to a terrible start last year”.
He said: “Manchester Airport has ranked last in our airport survey for four consecutive years and these new CAA figures validate why this is a particularly poor place to be stranded during delays.
“For passengers already wary of travel uncertainty, seeing such consistent underperformance makes it difficult to book with any real confidence.”
Bournemouth Airport, with an average delay of 17 minutes and 18 seconds, was the UK's third worst-performing last year.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport – less than 30 miles from Manchester – had the most punctual flights, recording an average delay of just nine minutes and 24 seconds.
The analysis took into account scheduled and chartered departures from the 23 commercial UK airports with at least 1,000 outbound flights last year. Cancellations were not included.
The average delay for departures last year was 14 minutes and 54 seconds, down from 18 minutes and 24 seconds in 2024.
Manchester is the UK’s only two-runway airport other than Heathrow, and was used by 32 million passengers last year.
Its scheme to revamp Terminal 3 is ongoing, while a ten-year £1.3 billion transformation which included modernising and doubling the size of Terminal 2, and closing Terminal 1, was recently completed.
A spokesperson for the airport said: “Punctuality is affected by factors that are outside of an airport’s control.
“The two most significant factors contributing to delays in the last year have been industrial action affecting air traffic control in Europe, and the weather.
“These were exacerbated by airspace restrictions above conflict zones meaning airports with significant long-haul networks, like Manchester, were more significantly affected than others.
“As an industry we are working collectively to achieve the best possible on-time departure rates, while protecting flight schedules and avoiding the need for cancellations.”
A spokesman for Bournemouth Airport said the reason for delays were outside its control “in the majority of cases”, and it was “one of the UK’s top-ranked regional airports for passenger satisfaction”.
Depending on the distance of the route and length of delay, passengers booked on delayed flights from UK airports are entitled to assistance such as a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means to communicate and overnight accommodation if required.
Passengers may also be able to claim compensation of up to £520 from the airline if the reason for the delay is deemed within its control, which could be a fault with the aircraft or pilot sickness.
Anna Bowles, head of consumer at the CAA, urged the aviation industry to be “focused on delivering punctual and reliable journeys for passengers wherever possible” as she warned that delays have a “real impact for people heading off on holidays”.
She said: “When disruption occurs, how the industry responds really matters.
“Passengers should be kept informed and given the care and support they are entitled to.”
A spokesperson for trade body AirportsUK said passengers were “benefitting from improvements in the service they receive”, and delays in 2025 were “down significantly on the previous year”.
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