With airline disruptions causing significant inconvenience for travellers, we studied over 1.7 million flights in and out of UK airports, logged by the Civil Aviation Authority.
The research reveals that Eastern Airways had the worst cancellation rate among airlines operating in the UK last year. Read on to learn about the other worst airlines for cancellations, along with the number of cancellations for the most popular airlines.
Whatever airline you choose, we’d love to speak to you today about a personalised travel insurance quote that ensures you’re covered for all the complications that can come with a flight cancellation.
Note: Please note that only airlines which are still currently active and flew more than two routes in, out or across the UK were included in the study.
The worst airlines for cancellations
First, let’s look at the airlines with the highest cancellation rates.
Known for its domestic routes across the UK, Eastern Airways faced substantial cancellations last year, with 639 out of 6,166 scheduled flights being cancelled. This equates to a cancellation rate of 10.4%, the highest of any airline in the research.
The airline with the second highest cancellation rate was found to be ITA Airways. With flight routes between London and Rome or Milan, ITA Airways recorded 265 cancellations out of 3,557 scheduled flights, resulting in 7.5% of all scheduled flights being cancelled.
Flyone followed with 41 recorded cancellations out of 636 scheduled flights, equating to a cancellation rate of 6.5%.
In comparison, the average cancellation rate across all airlines was only 1.7%, with 1,737,065 flights scheduled over the past year, highlighting the significantly higher rates of Eastern Airways, ITA Airways, and Flyone.
The airlines with the highest cancellations rates:
Where do the most popular airlines stand?
Despite the reputation they sometimes get, some of the most popular airlines did not feature in the top ten list for the highest number of cancellations.
For instance, easyJet had 5,782 cancellations from a total of 349,192 flights (1.6% cancellation rate). Similarly, Ryanair had a fairly low cancellation rate of 0.5%, with only 1,300 out of 275,615 flights being cancelled. Meanwhile, British Airways cancelled 8,505 out of its 268,536 scheduled flights, resulting in a 3.2% cancellation rate.
The most popular airlines by number of scheduled flights and their cancellation rate:
