How often is Emirates delayed at Heathrow?
£520 per passenger if a 3+ hour delay hits this route
Effectively one route: Heathrow to Dubai, 5,498 km apart.
In the last 12 months, Emirates operated 4,385 flights at Heathrow, and 0.4% were 3 or more hours late, the threshold where £520 per passenger becomes payable.
Effectively one route: Heathrow to Dubai, 5,498 km apart, which puts a delay of 3 hours or more in the £520 per passenger band.
Punctuality is up on last year: 69.4% of flights ran on time against 69.3% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 13.7 to 14.8 minutes.
| Emirates at Heathrow, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Heathrow | 4,385 | was 4,601 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 69.4% | ▲ was 69.3% |
| Average delay | 14.8 min | ▲ was 13.7 min |
| 3h+ late (compensation threshold) | 0.4% | - |
| Cancelled | 2.5% | - |
| Flights 3h+ late (a year) | 18 flights/year | - |
The CAA's figures combine arrivals and departures, so this covers traffic both ways, not departures alone.
Emirates at Heathrow, month by month
Worst month: March 2026, averaging 39.7 minutes.
Emirates' busiest routes at Heathrow
| Destination | 3h+ % | 3h+ delay pays |
|---|---|---|
| Dubai | 0.4% | £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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Emirates from other airports
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.