Half of all European flights were delayed last summer. Which airports were the worst – and best?

Fifty percent of flights in Europe had been delayed previous summer season and virtually 2,000 have been cancelled each working day in 2022, a new report reveals.

The facts – released by European air traffic administration entire body Eurocontrol – will arrive as no surprise to travellers, many of whom endured long queues and last-minute cancellations during 2022.

Two thirds of flights departed on time all through the 12 months – a significant reduce on the 2019 regular of 73 per cent.

But “the predicament deteriorated markedly more than the summer,” the report reads.

“Departure punctuality [dipped] under 50 for every cent at the commencing of July and involving 50 for every cent – 60 for every cent for most of the summer,” Eurocontrol concludes.

Hundreds of hundreds of flights ended up also cancelled. Approximately 6.9 for each cent of all scheduled journeys were grounded – practically double the 2019 regular of 3.5 for each cent.

But not all European nations around the world and airports fared similarly.

Which airports experienced the most delayed departures in 2019?

Eurocontrol has rated the premier 20 European airports on their arrival and departure punctuality.

Lisbon and Frankfurt noticed the most affordable costs of on time departure between Europe’s greatest airports. Just above half (54 for every cent) of flights departed Lisbon punctually and 56 per cent from Frankfurt.

In third put for punctuality was Paris CDG, which was afflicted by strikes past summer, in which 56.8 per cent of flights still left on time. London Gatiwck came in fourth with 57.5 for every cent of flights leaving on time.

London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol round out the base six, equally also with departure punctuality rates even worse than 60 for every cent.

At the other end of the rating, Oslo and Madrid top rated the listing in both arrival and departure punctuality.

81 for each cent of flights departed on time at Madrid Barajas, even though 77.2 for each cent did so in Oslo.

Which international locations have been specially negative for delays?

The Eurocontrol report also ranked nations around the world on their air website traffic handle delays. Air traffic management is not the complete delay, but is a “very significant” a single as it measures extra time right before takeoff brought on by air visitors manage shortages.

Air targeted visitors is not spread evenly across Europe. The British isles is the busiest air visitors command hub, adopted by Germany, Spain, and France. Nonetheless the busiest nations were being not necessarily the worst impacted.

The British isles and Spain with each other accounted for just 12 per cent of full air targeted visitors management delays.

Germany, on the other hand, accounted for practically a 3rd (30 per cent) of all delays. This is mostly due to the very poor operate of Germany’s Karlsruhe air traffic regulate space, the place delays are up 165 for every cent on 2019.

France also scored improperly, notching up 21 per cent of Europe’s delays.

Why were delays so negative around the summer?

Personnel shortages were the major bring about of the chaos. Quite a few thousands of aviation employees were being produced redundant for the duration of the COVID pandemic, so airways and airports struggled to offer with a sudden surge in the number of travellers previous yr.

The war in Ukraine also minimised available airspace, the Eurocontrol report indicates.

“The closure of Russian airspace intended a important total of extended rerouteings, though improved military services usage of European airspace disrupted normal traffic flows,” it reads.

It estimates 650 flights a working day ended up pressured to get far more southerly routes for the reason that of the war in Ukraine.