AirHelp reveals disruptions faced by UK passengers in 2023

With over 865,000 registered flights departing from the UK and 131 million passengers travelling last year, air travel is nearing pre-pandemic levels, suggesting that 2024 is going to be a pivotal point for the travel industry.

Data provided by AirHelp, the world’s largest air passenger rights organisation, shows that 34% of air passengers suffered disruptions when travelling from UK airports last year, and more than 3.8 million passengers had their flights cancelled altogether. Taking a closer look at AirHelp’s data uncovers that while most UK passengers faced delays of under three hours, meaning they were not eligible for financial compensation, over 3.7 million people had the right to claim and receive financial compensation from their airline.

In 2023, London Gatwick had the highest disruption rate of 42%, affecting over 8.2 million passengers. London Southend Airport follows this with 39% of passengers disrupted last year. Meanwhile, the most punctual airport in 2023 was Teesside International Airport with only 19% of flights disrupted.

When looking at the most disrupted routes from UK airports, with more than 20,000 passengers, London Gatwick to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia ranked the highest with over 91% of flights disrupted last year. Routes from London’s Heathrow airport take the second and third spot on the ranking with its routes to Portland International Airport and Bermuda airport having a disruption rate of 73% and 71% respectively. In fourth place is Birmingham Airport to Jeddah, with 71% of passengers facing delays or cancellations. 

On the other hand, the least impacted passengers last year were those who travelled from Edinburgh Airport to Düsseldorf Airport, with over 94% of the flights departing on time. Heathrow to Tan Son Nhat International Airport comes in second place at 93%. While Heathrow to Kuala Lumpur International Airport and London Luton to Lublin Airport are the other routes with the highest percentage of punctuality at 92%.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp, commented: “Last year was unprecedented for the travel industry; ongoing strikes across Europe, extreme weather conditions and air traffic control outages were just some of the challenges we faced. As air travel is returning to pre-pandemic levels, now is the time for airlines and airports to consider how to take this year’s travel chaos and turn it into opportunity.”