How bad are delays at Gatwick Airport?
£220 to £520 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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Gatwick is one of the 5 worst of the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time.
- Flights a year
- 256,257
- Landed on time
- 70.9%
- Land 3 hours or more late
- 1,538 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. Find your route below for the exact one.
1,538 flights a year cross the 3-hour line at Gatwick
The short answer
Delayed at Gatwick? What you can claim
If your flight from Gatwick 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 Gatwick is covered, on any airline; flights into Gatwick are covered from the EU, or on a UK or EU airline from anywhere.
My Gatwick flight was part of a package holiday. Can I still claim?
Yes. The compensation comes from the airline that flew the plane, whether you booked a flight on its own or a package. Your holiday company can help with a refund for the parts of the trip you missed.
Is a late flight into Gatwick 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 Gatwick on easyJet, British Airways, TUI or Vueling counts; the same delay on an airline from outside Europe, coming from outside the EU, does not.
Who pays if my Gatwick 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 Gatwick?
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.
What it pays
What a delay from Gatwick pays
The busiest routes out of Gatwick, priced. One departure airport, so each figure is exact.
Flying somewhere that isn't listed? Put the flight number in above and we'll work out the exact figure.
From our own tracking
Recent flights at Gatwick that ran late
Every flight landing at or leaving Gatwick 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. Flights leaving the UK show when they leave and when they land, each in local time. How late is counted from when they land. 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
Palma De Mallorca → London Gatwick Airport
14 Oct · due 12:25
easyJet
Palma De Mallorca → London Gatwick Airport
14 Oct · due 21:10
easyJet
London Gatwick Airport → Dubrovnik
13 Oct · Leaves 07:30
Was due to land 11:20
easyJet
Dubrovnik → London Gatwick Airport
13 Oct · due 14:00
easyJet
Milan → London Gatwick Airport
13 Oct · due 19:25
easyJet
London Gatwick Airport → Dubrovnik
13 Oct · Leaves 16:40
Was due to land 20:20
easyJet
Dubrovnik → London Gatwick Airport
13 Oct · due 23:00
easyJet
Pisa → London Gatwick Airport
12 Oct · due 18:10, landed 21:20
Norwegian
London Gatwick Airport → Bergen
11 Oct · Leaves 21:00
Was due to land 23:55
easyJet
Corfu → London Gatwick Airport
10 Oct · due 00:05
easyJet
London Gatwick Airport → Porto
10 Oct · Leaves 05:20
Was due to land 07:45
easyJet
Naples → London Gatwick Airport
10 Oct · due 09:15
easyJet
Porto → London Gatwick Airport
10 Oct · due 10:55
British Airways
Kingston, Jamaica → London Gatwick Airport
10 Oct · due 11:05
Enter Air
Preveza → London Gatwick Airport
10 Oct · due 17:50
Yours in the list? Check it free and we'll tell you what the airline owes you.
The daily log
Delays at Gatwick, day by day
- 13 October 2026: 5 flights late or cancelled
- 10 October 2026: 8 flights late or cancelled
- 9 October 2026: 7 flights late or cancelled
- 8 October 2026: 15 flights late or cancelled
- 6 October 2026: 4 flights late or cancelled
- 5 October 2026: 6 flights late or cancelled
- 3 October 2026: 3 flights late or cancelled
- 30 September 2026: 3 flights late or cancelled
- 29 September 2026: 6 flights late or cancelled
- 28 September 2026: 3 flights late or cancelled
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 Gatwick 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 70.9% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Most delays here are under an hour. About 1,538 flights a year cross the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
Which airline here is most reliable?
Iberia Express, 87.6% on time across 1,288 flights. Least reliable: Jet2.com, 54.9%. The full league table is below.
When is it worst?
September 2025, when flights at Gatwick ran an average of 24.6 minutes late.
See all the numbers for Gatwick
In the last 12 months, 256,257 flights operated at Gatwick, and 0.6% 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: 70.9% ran on time against 64.4% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 21.1 to 16.4 minutes.
| Gatwick, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Gatwick | 256,257 | was 261,548 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 70.9% | ▲ was 64.4% |
| Average delay | 16.4 min | ▼ was 21.1 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.6% | - |
| Cancelled | 0.9% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 1,538 flights/year | - |
These are CAA figures for Gatwick, arrivals and departures combined. Here's how each airline compares below.
Gatwick, month by month
Worst month: September 2025, averaging 24.6 minutes.
The league table
Airlines at Gatwick
| Airline | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|
| easyJet | 0.5% | 71.4% |
| British Airways | 0.8% | 69.1% |
| Vueling Airlines | 0.3% | 76.5% |
| TUI Airways | 0.9% | 58.0% |
| Norwegian | 0.2% | 79.2% |
| Wizz Air | 0.9% | 69.7% |
| Ryanair | 0.4% | 74.0% |
| Aurigny Air Services | 0.5% | 73.5% |
| Jet2.com | 0.6% | 54.9% |
| Turkish Airlines | 0.2% | 75.1% |
| TAP Air Portugal | 0.1% | 67.9% |
| Emirates | 0.2% | 68.6% |
| Norse Atlantic UK | 2.6% | 68.8% |
| SunExpress | 0.1% | 70.2% |
| Air Europa | 0.2% | 78.8% |
| Air Baltic | <0.1% | 75.2% |
| China Eastern Airlines | 0.7% | 86.3% |
| Air China | 0.6% | 84.8% |
| Iberia Express | 0.1% | 87.6% |
| Air Transat | 0.7% | 64.2% |
| Swiss Airlines | <0.1% | 64.6% |
| Air Peace | 0.3% | 64.9% |
| Singapore Airlines | 0.2% | 81.6% |
| Icelandair | <0.1% | 78.5% |
| Royal Air Maroc | 0.6% | 51.0% |
| Qatar Airways | 0.4% | 73.6% |
| Condor | 0.3% | 78.5% |
| Sky Express | 0.3% | 70.6% |
| Eurowings | 0.6% | 70.5% |
| KM Malta Airlines | <0.1% | 91.5% |
| China Southern | 0.2% | 88.0% |
| Air Mauritius | 1.0% | 67.2% |
| Air France | <0.1% | 71.0% |
| Air India | 2.9% | 61.0% |
| Enter Air | 0.6% | 57.8% |
| Ethiopian Airlines | 0.2% | 62.1% |
| Azerbaijan Airlines (Azal) | 1.0% | 58.8% |
| Tunisair | 3.7% | 35.6% |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 1.1% | 65.2% |
| WestJet | 0.3% | 65.7% |
| Kenya Airways | 3.7% | 55.8% |
| Nouvelair Tunisie | <0.1% | 66.8% |
| JetBlue Airways | 1.0% | 80.0% |
| Air Arabia Maroc | 3.3% | 73.7% |
Where it flies
Routes from Gatwick
The exact figure for a delay of 3 hours or more on each, worked out from the real distance rather than the range most sites quote.
Your rights
Your rights from Gatwick
Gatwick 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.