Flight delays are never fun, and at worst they can have a serious impact on your holiday. So how does your local airport fare when it comes to making you wait to board? A recent survey of UK airports doesn’t paint a pretty picture in general, but this won’t come as any surprise to anyone who’s had a lengthy wait in a departure lounge. So which ones have a decent record and which airports need to pull their socks up a bit? And how can you adjust other travel plans to accommodate potential delays?
UK Airport Delays
London travellers are the worst hit, with Stansted recording an average of 25 minute flight delays in 2018, followed by Luton at 19 minutes (joint second worst with Birmingham Airport). Other poor performers include Gatwick and Manchester, sitting on 18 minutes and 16 minutes respectively. But there is some good news. Holidaymakers in Northern Ireland will be happy to hear that Belfast City Airport is the best rated with just an average 8 minute delay and Liverpool has a respectable average delay of 10 minutes.
How to Deal with Airport Delays
Of course, there’s nothing travellers can do to improve this situation beyond petitioning local airports to better their performance or voting with their feet and departing from elsewhere. But there are small changes you can make to your travel plans to help cope if situations like this arise.
You may not have considered it before but booking a pass to an airport lounge could certainly take the stress out of the situation. This doesn’t have to be as costly as you’d think when you arrange well in advance, especially combined with the availability of special online deals. Another comfort you might want to consider is booking an airport hotel for the night before you are due to fly. Not only does this take the stress out of travelling whether your flight is on time or not, but you’ll also be close by to the terminal in the event of any delays. And did you know you can also book airport hotels with Parking at Airports? Well, you do now!
Airport Parking Benefits
Yes, flight delays are stressful, but you can ease this somewhat by taking the stress out of getting to the airport in the first place. Driving to the terminal gives you more time at home to prepare and find out about potential delays before you even set off, something you won’t be able to do if you’re stick in a train tunnel with no reception. And the cost of this service compares favourably with higher public transport or taxi fares, especially when you consider the extra convenience it affords you. If you’re departing from the best performing terminal in the survey, we’ve got plenty of savings that can get you cheap Belfast Airport parking as well as discounts with lots of other UK airports.
There’s no getting around the fact that travelling by air can be a bit of a nightmare. But you don’t have to put yourself through too much stress getting to the airport, or even while you’re waiting to board. There are lots of comfortable and convenient options available, and with airport parking and lounge passes becoming more and more affordable, those flight delays don’t have to be a complete disaster.