How often is American Airlines delayed at Heathrow?
283 flights a year cross the 3-hour compensation line
Each one worth £520 per passenger.
In the last 12 months, American Airlines operated 14,902 flights at Heathrow, and 1.9% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £520 per passenger becomes payable.
Punctuality is down on last year: 73.9% of flights ran on time against 74.1% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 28 to 21.7 minutes.
| American Airlines at Heathrow, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Heathrow | 14,902 | was 15,775 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 73.9% | ▼ was 74.1% |
| Average delay | 21.7 min | ▼ was 28 min |
| 3h+ late (compensation threshold) | 1.9% | - |
| Cancelled | 3.3% | - |
| Flights 3h+ late (a year) | 283 flights/year | - |
The CAA's figures combine arrivals and departures, so this covers traffic both ways, not departures alone.
American Airlines at Heathrow, month by month
Worst month: August 2025, averaging 29.9 minutes.
American Airlines' busiest routes at Heathrow
| Destination | 3h+ % | 3h+ delay pays |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas/Fort Worth | 2.0% | £520 |
| New York (John F Kennedy) | 2.3% | £520 |
| Charlotte | 1.7% | £520 |
| Chicago (O'Hare) | 1.7% | £520 |
| Los Angeles International | 2.0% | £520 |
| Miami International | 1.2% | £520 |
| Philadelphia International | 1.3% | £520 |
| Raleigh | 1.5% | £520 |
Your rights on this route
Heathrow is a UK airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by UK261, whichever airline you fly with. Delays of 3 or more hours pay £220 to £520 per passenger depending on how far you were flying, and the table above gives the exact figure for each of these routes. See the full breakdown on the 3-hour rule. If the flight is cancelled instead of delayed, broadly the same amounts apply under different conditions. See cancelled flight compensation.
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Other airlines at Heathrow
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, July 2025 to June 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports.