Travel delays and flight interruptions can put a real strain on your wallet, your connection plans and your sanity. New recent research has revealed the most delayed airports this summer in the United Kingdom, Europe and America – while the company behind the figures has offered some expert-based knowledge on what to do in the event of an unforeseen delay.
Released by compensation specialists AirHelp, the study concentrated on June and July of this year across airports in the three areas. It revealed that half of flights departing from Mykonos were delayed, making it the most disrupted airport in Europe during the busy summer months. As well as Greece, flights departing from Portuguese airports were also highly likely to be delayed, with Ponta Delgada, Lajes, Santorini, Athens and Lisbon all in the top ten most affected airports for Europe and the UK. Other airports in the top ten were Italy’s Malpensa and Venice, While Ljubljana in Slovenia was at number nine.
As top tourist destinations, it is likely that delays were a direct result of traffic coming in and out of each airport. Many South European airports have a higher delay rate which interfered with many Americans’ and Europeans’ summer vacation plans this year.
In the United Kingdom, the worst effected airports were London Gatwick, Bristol, Edinburgh, London Heathrow and Birmingham. “It is surprising that some major UK airports had on average three to four out of ten flights delayed in departure, especially from airports in the capital with an extensive amount of international departures such as Gatwick and Heathrow. This being said, air passengers should plan additional time to fly from these airports,” Paloma Salmeron, an air passenger rights expert at AirHelp said.
In the United States, the top-ranking airports for flight disruptions this summer were Newark Liberty International Airport in New York, Chicago O’Hare International Airport, LaGuardia Airport in New York, Denver International Airport, Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Texas, North Carolina’s Charlotte Douglas International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
AirHelp also offered advice to passengers who do experience delays. “For those who depart from a European airport with more than three hours’ delay, cancellation, or denied boarding, chances are you could get up to $700 in compensation. If you are an unfortunate victim of a flight delay, we encourage you to check your eligibility for compensation using our free assessment tool on AirHelp’s website. According to the company, the amount of compensation owed is calculated based on the length of the route. Affected and eligible passengers can claim compensation up to three years after their flight.