Revealed: Newcastle Airport’s worst flight routes for delays and cancellations

With the summer holidays approaching, many holidaymakers from the North East will soon be jetting off for a trip to the sun.

But as we all know, there’s nothing worse than starting your vacation by hanging around the airport for hours waiting for a delayed flight. And data has revealed that some routes are particularly bad in terms of punctuality – with more than two in three flights being delayed on Newcastle’s worst air route.

Analysis of the latest figures from the Civil Aviation Authority reveals that 68% of Jet2 flights from Newcastle to Malaga were delayed by at least 15 minutes in the 12 months to April. This is the worst record of any UK route that had more than 100 flights in the last year.

Jet2 flights to Alicante also top the list of delayed flights at Newcastle Airport, with 66% of flights delayed by at least 15 minutes last year. They are followed by Jet2 flights to Faro (63%) and Tenerife Sur Reina Sofia Airport (62%), and then TUI flights to Mallorca (60%). In fact, most of the top 10 most delayed airlines departing from Newcastle Airport were Jet2 flights.

Destination – Airline – % of flights delayed by 15 minutes or more (12 months to April 2024)

Malaga – Jet2.Com Ltd – 68% delay
Alicante – Jet2.Com Ltd – 66% late
Faro – Jet2.Com Ltd – 63% delay
Tenerife (Surreina Sofia) – Jet2.Com Ltd – 62% delay
Palma de Mallorca – TUI Airways Ltd – 60% late
Ibiza – Jet2.Com Ltd – 60% late
Palma De Mallorca – Jet2.Com Ltd – 57% late
Las Palmas – Jet2.Com Ltd – 56% late
Arrecife – Ryanair – 52% delay
Palma de Mallorca – EasyJet UK Ltd – 52% late

However, it’s a different story when you look at the routes that will keep you waiting the longest. Ryanair flights from Newcastle to Mallorca have the worst record when it comes to average airport delays. While only 37% of flights on this route were delayed by 15 minutes or more in the year to April, they were delayed by an average of 36 minutes.

They were followed by Ryanair flights to Krakow and Malaga (both 34 minutes), TUI flights to Arrecife (28 minutes) and Ryanair flights to Alicante and EasyJet flights to Bristol (both 26 minutes).

Destination – Airline – Average delay (12 months until April 2024)

Palma De Mallorca – Ryanair – 36 minutes
Krakow – Ryanair – 34 minutes
Malaga – Ryanair – 34 minutes
Arrecife – TUI Airways Ltd – 28 minutes
Alicante – Ryanair – 26 minutes
Bristol – EasyJet UK Ltd – 26 minutes
Dubai – Emirates – 25 minutes
Paphos – Ryanair – 25 minutes
Dublin – Ryanair – 24 minutes
Dalaman – Jet2.Com Ltd – 22 minutes

The only thing worse than a delayed flight is a canceled flight, and luckily this is rare at Newcastle Airport. Loganair flights to Stavanger in Norway were most likely to be canceled last year, but only 5% of flights on this route were canceled between May 2023 and April 2024.

Other routes with relatively high cancellation rates include Loganair flights to Aberdeen and KLM flights to Amsterdam (both 4%), as well as Aer Lingus flights to Belfast, Lufthansa flights to Frankfurt and Loganair flights to Exeter (both 3%).

Destination – Airline – % of cancelled flights (12 months to April 2024)

Stavanger – Loganair Ltd – 5% canceled
Aberdeen – Loganair Ltd – 4% cancelled
Amsterdam – Klm – 4% cancelled
Belfast City (George Best) – Aer Lingus – 3% cancelled
Frankfurt am Main – Lufthansa – 3% canceled
Exeter – Loganair Ltd – 3% canceled
Heathrow – British Airways Plc – 2% cancelled
Bristol – EasyJet UK Ltd – 2% canceled
Southampton – Loganair Ltd – 2% canceled
Paris (Charles De Gaulle) – Air France – 1% cancelled

Find out how likely flights to your destination are to be delayed with our interactive gadget: