How bad are delays at Belfast International Airport?
£220 to £520 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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Belfast International is one of the 5 best of the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time.
- Flights a year
- 45,231
- Landed on time
- 78.4%
- Land 3 hours or more late
- 226 a year
Last 12 months, CAA data
What you're owed
£220 to £520each if you land 3 hours or more late
Which figure depends on how far you flew. Put your flight number in and we work out the exact one.
226 flights a year cross the 3-hour line at Belfast International
The short answer
Delayed at Belfast International? What you can claim
If your flight from Belfast International landed 3 hours or more late, or was cancelled with less than 2 weeks' notice, everyone on the booking may be owed £220 to £520 each, by distance. The airline pays, not the airport. Every flight leaving Belfast International is covered, on any airline; flights into Belfast International are covered from the EU, or on a UK or EU airline from anywhere.
Are flights between Belfast and Great Britain covered?
Yes. Northern Ireland is part of the UK, so a flight from Belfast International to London, Liverpool or Glasgow is a UK flight, covered in both directions whichever airline flies it. Most are under 1,500 km, so 3 hours or more late pays £220 each.
Is a late flight into Belfast International covered?
Yes if it left the EU, whichever airline flew it, or if a UK or EU airline flew it from anywhere. A late arrival into Belfast International on easyJet, Jet2 or Ryanair counts; the same delay on an airline from outside Europe, coming from outside the EU, does not.
Who pays if my Belfast International flight is late: the airline or the airport?
The airline that flew the plane. If the cause was something the airline controls, such as a technical fault or a crew shortage, it owes the fixed amount. Problems run by others, such as air traffic control limits or an airport staff strike, usually count as outside the airline's control, so there is no fixed payout, though the airline must still look after you.
What must the airline give me while I wait at Belfast International?
Food and drink once you have waited 2 hours on a short flight, 3 hours on a medium one, or 4 hours on a long one, and a hotel with transfers if you are stuck overnight. This applies whatever caused the delay, weather included. Keep your receipts if you have to pay yourself.
From our own tracking
Recent flights at Belfast International that ran late
Every flight landing at or leaving Belfast International we logged running 3 hours or more late, or cancelled, since August. Newest first, and only flights UK or EU rules cover. A cancelled row carries no figure because what it pays turns on the notice you were given. Amounts are per person on the booking (half on the longest flights that landed 3 to 4 hours late). Airlines can still dispute a claim by proving the cause was outside their control, so check yours for the real answer. We earn a fee if you claim through a Claim link.
easyJet
Faro → Belfast International Airport
14 Oct · due 01:48, landed 12:59
easyJet
London → Belfast International Airport
8 Oct · due 19:40
easyJet
Alicante → Belfast International Airport
4 Oct · due 20:10
easyJet
Manchester → Belfast International Airport
21 Sept · due 08:10
easyJet
Edinburgh → Belfast International Airport
21 Sept · due 13:05
easyJet
Amsterdam → Belfast International Airport
21 Sept · due 13:55
easyJet
London → Belfast International Airport
21 Sept · due 13:55
easyJet
Edinburgh → Belfast International Airport
21 Sept · due 17:25
easyJet
Manchester → Belfast International Airport
20 Sept · due 16:35
easyJet
London → Belfast International Airport
13 Sept · due 19:10
easyJet
Manchester → Belfast International Airport
13 Sept · due 23:25
Ryanair UK
Málaga → Belfast International Airport
9 Sept · due 00:05
easyJet
London → Belfast International Airport
9 Sept · due 07:30
easyJet
Edinburgh → Belfast International Airport
9 Sept · due 08:20
Ryanair UK
London → Belfast International Airport
8 Sept · due 16:15
Yours in the list? Check it free and we'll tell you what the airline owes you.
The daily log
Delays at Belfast International, day by day
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Flying soon? We'll watch your flight
If it lands 3 hours or more late we email you what you're owed.
How bad is it
Does Belfast International get delayed a lot?
No, less than most. It's one of the 5 best of the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time, with 78.4% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Most delays here are under an hour. About 226 flights a year cross the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
Which airline here is most reliable?
Ryanair, 79.9% on time across 7,783 flights. Least reliable: easyJet, 78.5%. The full league table is below.
When is it worst?
January 2026, when flights at Belfast International ran an average of 20.3 minutes late.
See all the numbers for Belfast International
In the last 12 months, 45,231 flights operated at Belfast International, and 0.5% were 3 hours or more late, crossing the threshold where £220 to £520 each becomes payable.
Flights are landing on time more often than last year: 78.4% ran on time against 76.5% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 14.2 to 13 minutes.
| Belfast International, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Belfast International | 45,231 | was 46,308 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 78.4% | ▲ was 76.5% |
| Average delay | 13 min | ▼ was 14.2 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.5% | - |
| Cancelled | 0.4% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 226 flights/year | - |
These are CAA figures for Belfast International, arrivals and departures combined. Here's how each airline compares below.
Belfast International, month by month
Worst month: January 2026, averaging 20.3 minutes.
The league table
Airlines at Belfast International
| Airline | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|
| easyJet | 0.5% | 78.5% |
| Ryanair | 0.7% | 79.9% |
| Jet2.com | 0.5% | 78.8% |
| TUI Airways | 2.6% | 59.6% |
Your rights
Your rights from Belfast International
Belfast International is a UK airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by UK law, whichever airline operates it. Delays of 3 hours or more pay £220 to £520 each depending on distance. See the full breakdown on the 3-hour rule. Cancelled instead of delayed? Broadly the same amounts apply under different conditions. See cancelled flight compensation.
Other UK airports
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, August 2025 to July 2026. Analysis by CheckFlightCompensation; the CAA is credited as the data source as its publication conditions require. Figures cover the 25 largest UK airports. Methodology and limitations.