How bad are delays at Heathrow Airport?
£220 to £520 each, if you land 3 hours or more late
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Heathrow is about average for the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time.
- Flights a year
- 471,060
- Landed on time
- 76.1%
- Land 3 hrs or more late
- 2,355a 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.
2,355 flights a year cross the 3-hour line at Heathrow
What it pays
What a delay from Heathrow pays
The busiest routes out of Heathrow, 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 arrivals into Heathrow that ran late
Every arrival at Heathrow we logged running 3 or more hours 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.
Lufthansa City
Frankfurt-am-Main → London Heathrow Airport
9 Oct · 07:40
British Airways
Rome → London Heathrow Airport
8 Oct · 19:25 → 22:38
British Airways
Tokyo → London Heathrow Airport
8 Oct · 15:45
British Airways
Dublin → London Heathrow Airport
8 Oct · 17:00
British Airways
Barcelona → London Heathrow Airport
8 Oct · 18:10
Virgin Atlantic
Los Angeles → London Heathrow Airport
7 Oct · 10:15
British Airways
Aberdeen → London Heathrow Airport
7 Oct · 12:05
Virgin Atlantic
New Delhi → London Heathrow Airport
7 Oct · 16:15
British Airways
Boston → London Heathrow Airport
7 Oct · 18:40
British Airways
Faro → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 16:10 → 22:36
British Airways
Barcelona → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 09:10 → 13:08
British Airways
Manchester → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 08:10 → 11:39
Finnair
Helsinki → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 09:10 → 12:36
British Airways
Frankfurt-am-Main → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 07:25 → 10:46
British Airways
Inverness → London Heathrow Airport
6 Oct · 09:00 → 12:17
Yours in the list? Check it free and we'll tell you what the airline owes you.
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 Heathrow get delayed a lot?
Not especially. It's about average for the 25 biggest UK airports for landing on time, with 76.1% of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Most delays here are under an hour. About 2,355 flights a year cross the 3-hour line, which is the point the airline has to pay.
Which airline here is most reliable?
China Southern, 89.7% on time across 1,688 flights. Least reliable: Air India, 42.3%. The full league table is below.
When is it worst?
July 2025, when flights at Heathrow ran an average of 18.5 minutes late.
See all the numbers for Heathrow
In the last 12 months, 471,060 flights operated at Heathrow, and 0.5% were 3 or more hours late, crossing the threshold where £220 to £520 each becomes payable.
Flights are landing on time more often than last year: 76.1% ran on time against 72.0% in the twelve months before, and the average delay fell from 15.6 to 13.3 minutes.
| Heathrow, last 12 months | Figure | vs year before |
|---|---|---|
| Flights at Heathrow | 471,060 | was 472,953 |
| Ran on time (within 15 min) | 76.1% | ▲ was 72.0% |
| Average delay | 13.3 min | ▼ was 15.6 min |
| 3 hours or more late (the line where they pay) | 0.5% | - |
| Cancelled | 1.4% | - |
| Flights 3 hours or more late (a year) | 2,355 flights/year | - |
These are CAA figures for Heathrow, arrivals and departures combined. Here's how each airline compares below.
Heathrow, month by month
Worst month: July 2025, averaging 18.5 minutes.
The league table
Airlines at Heathrow
| Airline | 3 hours or more late | Landed on time |
|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 0.4% | 77.2% |
| Virgin Atlantic | 0.3% | 81.7% |
| American Airlines | 1.9% | 73.9% |
| Lufthansa | 0.1% | 73.1% |
| United Airlines | 1.9% | 76.9% |
| Aer Lingus | 0.1% | 78.2% |
| Swiss Airlines | <0.5% | 72.0% |
| Eurowings Luftverkehrs | 0.2% | 69.2% |
| SAS | 0.1% | 84.4% |
| Delta Air Lines | 0.8% | 80.2% |
| Air Canada | 1.0% | 75.2% |
| Iberia | 0.2% | 78.7% |
| KLM | 0.3% | 75.8% |
| Qatar Airways | 0.4% | 74.8% |
| Air India | 2.2% | 42.3% |
| Air France | 0.2% | 73.4% |
| Turkish Airlines | 0.2% | 76.6% |
| Emirates | 0.4% | 69.4% |
| Air Portugal | 0.2% | 64.1% |
| Loganair | 0.3% | 78.6% |
| Vueling Airlines | 0.3% | 77.8% |
| Cathay Pacific Airways | 0.8% | 68.0% |
| Saudi Arabian Airlines | 1.5% | 72.5% |
| Finnair | 0.1% | 74.1% |
| Austrian Airlines | 0.1% | 75.9% |
| Singapore Airlines | 0.3% | 81.8% |
| Etihad Airways | 0.3% | 72.6% |
| Aegean Airlines | 0.1% | 75.7% |
| Egypt Air | 0.3% | 62.5% |
| Brussels Airlines | 0.3% | 60.8% |
| JetBlue Airways | 0.5% | 83.4% |
| LOT Polish Airlines | 0.1% | 65.8% |
| Scandinavian Airlines Ireland | 0.1% | 83.6% |
| Air China | 0.2% | 83.1% |
| China Southern | 0.3% | 89.7% |
| Qantas | 1.6% | 76.4% |
| Malaysian Airlines System-Mas | 0.3% | 82.1% |
| Thai Airways International | 0.1% | 83.8% |
| Japan Airlines | 0.3% | 79.7% |
| Icelandair | 0.7% | 85.0% |
| Gulf Air | 0.8% | 77.7% |
| El Al | 0.6% | 73.9% |
| Kuwait Airways | 1.6% | 75.7% |
| Oman Air | 0.2% | 72.2% |
| Royal Air Maroc | 0.1% | 55.6% |
| Middle East Airlines (Air Liban S A L) | 0.1% | 75.1% |
| Km Malta Airlines | <0.5% | 89.0% |
| Air Serbia | 0.6% | 72.8% |
| SriLankan Airlines | 0.4% | 67.6% |
| Royal Jordanian | 0.7% | 82.4% |
| Ethiopian Airlines | 0.3% | 76.6% |
| Asiana Airlines | 0.1% | 55.9% |
| Korean Air | <0.5% | 73.2% |
| Eva Air | <0.5% | 80.0% |
| Tam Linhas Aereas | 0.3% | 72.5% |
| Avianca Colombia | 2.0% | 82.0% |
| Aeromexico | 0.5% | 83.6% |
| All Nippon Airways | 0.7% | 81.6% |
| Kenya Airways | 4.2% | 61.8% |
| China Eastern Airlines | 0.1% | 81.1% |
| West Jet Airlines | 0.9% | 67.2% |
| Indigo | 2.0% | 52.1% |
| Vietnam Airlines | 0.6% | 74.6% |
| Rwandair | 3.0% | 72.2% |
| Biman Bangladesh Airlines | 5.8% | 69.5% |
| China Airlines | 0.8% | 72.3% |
| Shenzhen Airlines | 0.8% | 82.3% |
| Air Algerie | 2.3% | 64.4% |
| Bulgaria Air | <0.5% | 80.9% |
| Riyadh Air | 0.7% | 83.6% |
| Croatia Airlines | 0.5% | 43.0% |
| Italia Traspoto Aereo | 0.5% | 73.1% |
| Tianjin Airlines | 0.3% | 83.3% |
| Hainan Airlines | <0.5% | 89.1% |
| Azerbaijan Airlines (Azal) | <0.5% | 74.5% |
| Royal Brunei Airlines | 0.9% | 66.8% |
Where it flies
Routes from Heathrow
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 Heathrow
Heathrow 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.