Leeds Bradford Airport and Doncaster Sheffield Airport: Have more flights been cancelled or delayed this year compared to before the pandemic?

The figures show a total of 3,363 flights were cancelled across 26 major UK airports within three months from January to March.

This represents 1.5 per cent of flights to or from these UK airports which has increased from 0.9 per cent of flights cancelled in the same period in 2019. These figures come from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

A spokesperson for the CAA said the emergence of the Omicron variant before Christmas “led to many flight cancellations and some key European markets imposing bans on UK travellers.”

Only flights that were cancelled on short notice are counted in the statistics and cancelled flights are determined as those which are called off within 24 hours of the scheduled departure time.

Have more flights been cancelled this year compared to 2019 at Doncaster Sheffield Airport?

With a total of 734 flights at DSA in 2022, the figures show that no flights were cancelled between January and March 2022 at DSA, while out of a total of 1,508 flights in 2019, there were nine flights cancelled during the same period of that year.

This represents 0 per cent of flights to or from DSA which has reduced from 0.6 per cent of flights cancelled in the same period in 2019.

Have more flights been cancelled this year compared to before the pandemic at Leeds Bradford Airport?

Figures show that 85 flights out of a total of 3,053, were cancelled between January and March 2022 at LBA, while out of a total of 5,218 there were 54 flights cancelled in 2019.

This represents 2.8 per cent in 2022 which has risen from one per cent in 2019.

Have more flights been delayed this year compared to before the pandemic at Doncaster Sheffield Airport?

Statistics show that during the period of January to March in 2022, 201 flights were delayed this year in comparison to 279 delayed flights in 2019.

Relatively in terms of percentages, this shows that the figures have increased from 18.5 per cent in 2019 to 27.4 per cent in 2022.

Have more flights been delayed this year compared to before the pandemic at Leeds Bradford Airport?

Figures show that there were 466 delayed flights from January to March in 2022, compared to 781 delayed flights during the same period in 2019.

These numbers have increased slightly from 15 per cent in 2019 to 15.3 per cent in 2022.

Which are the worst airports in the UK for delays and cancellations?

Within the first three months of this year, Doncaster Sheffield Airport had the highest rate of delays, with 27 per cent of flights running at least 15 minutes late. This was followed by Manchester, with 26 per cent of flights delayed, and Heathrow, where 24 per cent of flights were delayed.

A spokesperson for Doncaster Sheffield Airport said: “We are always mindful that we provide an easy, friendly and relaxed service for our passengers and whilst it is unusual to experience long delays over 15 to 20 minutes for outbound travel from DSA, we are doing all that we can to alleviate delays for our customers.

“We advise passengers to check the most recent announcements from their airline and the airport before setting off on their journey.”

Belfast City had the best performance, with only eight per cent of delayed flights and figures show that Southampton Airport had the highest number of flight cancellations for the first three months of 2022, at 6.2 per cent.

Almost half of the 192 cancelled flights at Southampton were those run by Guernsey state-run carrier Aurigny Air Services to and from airports in the Channel Islands. Both Southampton Airport and Aurigny Air Services were approached for comment.

This was followed by Aberdeen and London City airports, both with cancellation rates of 3.9 per cent.

Six airports have reported having no flight cancellations between January and March 2022, these were Belfast, Bournemouth, Cardiff, Doncaster Sheffield, Exeter and Teesside.

Combining both delays and cancellations, Manchester Airport had the worst (in total) performance. Less than three-quarters (72 per cent) of flights left on time in the first three months of this year.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “On-time performance can be affected by a range of factors such as weather, technical issues, staff sickness and global air traffic control delays.

“We work closely with our third parties on site - airlines, handling agents and air traffic control to minimise delays as far as reasonably possible.”

Are airports busier than normal?

Following years of lockdowns and people having to be sequestered in their homes during the pandemic, many have been eager to return to taking trips abroad.

But the figures for the first quarter of 2022 show passenger numbers were still far below pre-pandemic levels, which suggests it wasn’t an overwhelming number of passengers that lay behind the problems at airports.

In total, 31.4 million passengers flew in and out of the UK between January and March this year. This represents a 42 per cent fall in passengers compared to the same period of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Aviation experts believe this is due to a shortage of trained and vetted staff, both within airports and on airlines.

The Airport Operators Association (AOA), the trade association representing the interests of airports across the UK, said: “Airports anticipated it would be challenging at peak times as the industry seeks to re-start and have had big recruitment campaigns underway since before the start of this year.

“But until the restrictions were lifted, uncertainty about the future of travel made this difficult. Since then, there has been a very positive response and airports are now seeing additional staff completing the required vetting and training, and being deployed. As a result, while queues may be longer at certain times at some airports, most passengers are getting through airport security - and away on their holidays - smoothly.

“The focus now must be on continuing to improve the service to customers. Airports are working closely with airlines and ground handling companies to facilitate check in, baggage handling and on-time departures. We will work closely with them and with the government to ensure we are ready for the summer getaway - the first proper summer holiday period since the start of the pandemic.”