How bad are delays at Cardiff Wales Airport?
£220 to £520 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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Cardiff Wales is one of the 5 worst of the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time.
- Flights a year
- 7,639
- Landed on time
- 69.5%
- Land 3 hrs or more late
- 61a 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.
61 flights a year cross the 3-hour line at Cardiff Wales
Watch my flight
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 Cardiff Wales get delayed a lot?
Yes, more than most. It's one of the 5 worst of the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time, with 69.5% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Most delays here are under an hour. About 61 flights a year cross the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
Which airline here is most reliable?
Ryanair, 74.9% on time across 1,535 flights. Least reliable: TUI Airways, 63.4%. The full league table is below.
When is it worst?
May 2026, when flights at Cardiff Wales ran an average of 24.6 minutes late.
See all the numbers for Cardiff Wales
In the last 12 months, 7,639 flights operated at Cardiff Wales, and 0.8% were 3 or more hours late, crossing the threshold where £220 to £520 each becomes payable.
Flights are landing on time less often than last year: 69.5% ran on time against 71.6% in the twelve months before, and the average delay rose from 16.5 to 17.8 minutes.
| Cardiff Wales, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Cardiff Wales | 7,639 | was 7,013 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 69.5% | ▼ was 71.6% |
| Average delay | 17.8 min | ▲ was 16.5 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.8% | - |
| Cancelled | 1.0% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 61 flights/year | - |
These are CAA figures for Cardiff Wales, arrivals and departures combined. Here's how each airline compares below.
Cardiff Wales, month by month
Worst month: May 2026, averaging 24.6 minutes.
The league table
Airlines at Cardiff Wales
| Airline | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|
| TUI Airways | 1.0% | 63.4% |
| Ryanair | 0.5% | 74.9% |
| KLM | 0.4% | 73.0% |
| Emerald Airlines | 1.2% | 73.1% |
| Vueling Airlines | <0.5% | 76.6% |
Your rights
Your rights from Cardiff Wales
Cardiff Wales is a UK airport, so every flight departing from it is covered by UK law, whichever airline operates it. Delays of 3 or more hours 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, 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. Methodology and limitations.