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The airport in the holiday resort of Antalya is near the bottom of the punctuality rankings, with only 39 per cent of flights arriving on schedule. Picture: Antalya Tourist Information

More and more flights in Europe are arriving late

19.11.2024 – 07:45

Air passengers in Europe often had to be patient in the summer of 2024: more and more arrivals missed their scheduled times – sometimes by a considerable margin. A new analysis by Eurocontrol shows which of the largest airports did well and which became a nuisance for travellers.

Taking off and landing on time – this wish of many air travellers was often disappointed at Europe's airports in the summer of 2024. An analysis by Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, reveals a worrying trend: more and more flights arrived late.

Flights arriving more than 15 minutes behind their original schedule are considered unpunctual. Particularly alarming: according to the aviation portal «Aerotelegraph», even renowned hubs such as Frankfurt, Munich, Berlin, Zurich and Vienna were not spared from the wave of delays.

An analysis of Europe's 30 largest airports shows which airports scored well in terms of punctuality during the summer months of June to August 2024 – and which ones became a nuisance for travellers.

Oslo wins, Antalya crashes

The number one in punctuality is Oslo-Gardermoen Airport. With 76 per cent of arrivals on time, it made it to the top of the ranking. Copenhagen Airport also shone with an impressive improvement of 10 percentage points – now 74 per cent of flights arrive on schedule.

At the other end of the scale, things look bleak. Antalya Airport suffered a bitter loss of 13 percentage points. Only 39 per cent of arrivals were on time. London Gatwick also disappointed: half of the flights were late.

The results for airports in German-speaking countries are mixed. Zurich landed in the middle of the pack with 62 per cent (plus one percentage point) of arrivals on time. Vienna recorded a drastic decline of ten percentage points, also to 62 per cent. Both airports are thus well behind the frontrunners.

Nevertheless, the airports were able to reduce delays on the ground by almost seven per cent. The trend for the first rotation of the day is particularly encouraging, with delays falling by 11 per cent.

Eurocontrol attributes the decline in punctuality to a variety of factors. Delays often occur before the last leg of the flight – due to delays in earlier flights, bad weather or overloaded air traffic control. These are factors that are mostly beyond the control of airport operators.

(TN)