Brit holidaymakers endure 1,000 hours of airport delays – as hold ups soar by 30 per cent
From air traffic strikes, to a military coup, to potholes on the runway... British travellers have spent 4,500 hours waiting for delayed flights this summer
BRITISH holidaymakers suffered a summer of delays at UK airports this year, up by almost 30 per cent on the last two years, according to new figures.
That adds up to an extra 1,000 HOURS of hanging around terminals or on the tarmac waiting for flights to take off, said the report.
Palma, in sunkissed Mallorca, was the worst place for delays of three hours or more for those travelling with the four biggest package holiday carriers, said flight compensation group EUClaim.
Greek island destinations also figured high on the list.
But while French air traffic strikes and faults on aircraft accounted for some, other reasons given varied from the Turkish military coup to a pothole on a runway at Gatwick.
It estimated summer delays totalled 4,500 hours across all the UK’s airports this summer, up on the 3,500 hours in both 2015 and 2014 for the peak period of the year.
Despite the problems this can cause such as catching connecting flights or other transport links, up to £130 million that could be claimed in compensation is left unclaimed, said the report.
Around three in four flight delays quality for some form of refund or compensation said EUClaim manager, Adeline Nooderhaven.
She said: “All in all, Brits have faced a summer of travel misery and we would encourage anyone who has been delayed or cancelled to get in touch.
“Airlines will never proactively offer compensation and we believe the EU - the body that regulate flight delay compensation - should look long and hard at whether the airlines are doing enough by the consumer and operating within the spirit of the existing regulation.
July 11th was the worst day for delays with 125 reported, mostly because of ‘freak weather.’
The best day was August 14th with just 26 incidents.
There has been a rise, this year, in strikes by air traffic controllers but many faults were down to airlines, particularly budget carriers with high passenger loads, trying to turn round flights quickly within a very tight schedule.
One delayed flight in this schedule has a knock on effect on every subsequent flight on the same route that day and even the day after, said EUClaim.
