Study reveals the worst airports around the world for flight delays
There's nothing worse than your flight being delayed - especially if you're already at the airport.
It either cuts into your precious holiday time, or it's prolonging the hours until you can return to your comfy, cosy bed.
And if you have a connecting flight you need to make, that adds a whole other layer of stress into the equation.
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Flight delays can put a real dampen on your holiday. Getty
The fact is, some airports are way better than others when it comes to flights departing on time, according to a new study.
And there are some airports that - sorry to say it - should be avoided altogether.
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Sail Croatia has crunched the numbers, looking at flight delay frequency, terminal crowding, and how often people search online for lost-baggage assistance to determine the 'worst' airports across the globe.
London's Stansted Airport was crowned the winner (or loser, as the case may be). According to the research, 75 per cent of flights from this airport in 2025 were delayed.
London Stansted Airport has the worst rep for delays. AP
Hartsfield–Jackson Airport in Atlanta came in second on the list. Only 20 per cent of flights were delayed, but there were a whopping 35,000 lost luggage inquiries last year.
It is important to note that this airport is the busiest in the whole world, seeing over 100 million passengers, so the higher number does make sense.
Paris' Charles De Gaulle Airport ranked third, with six in 10 flights experiencing delays in 2025.
London's Gatwick and Heathrow Airports rounded out the top five, ranking high because of the passenger density at each one.
Heathrow is much bigger than London's other airports, but as it's also Europe's busiest terminal, it often feels overwhelmed with people.
Charles de Gaulle Paris is the second-biggest in Europe. Getty
"Air travel used to be expensive and something most people only did once or twice a year. Budget airlines changed that completely about 20 years ago," says a rep from Sail Croatia.
In 2000, about 1.8 billion passengers flew annually. Today, that number is nearly 10 billion.
"Airports weren't built to handle this many passengers. So it's no wonder that even famous terminals like Heathrow and Charles de Gaulle are struggling these days."
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Expect delays at busy airports like Heathrow. AP
Cities in the US and Europe dominated the rest of the top ten list, which featured airports in Mallorca, New Jersey, Vienna, Seattle, and Madrid.
If you do ever experience a major flight delay, it's important to get in contact with the hotel you've booked for that night.
At some hotels, when you don't show up at the specified time, they may give your room away to someone else.
This exact thing happened to 9Travel writer Sarah, who missed a connection at LAX, showed up in Arizona close to midnight, only to learn that her hotel no longer had a room for her.
