Europe’s 10 worst airports for 60+ minute delays

Find out which European airports have the most hour-long (or more) flight delays. We break down our AirAdvisor AirData® by delay rate, delay time, and routes.

Amy Lancelotte

By:  Amy Lancelotte

Last Updated:  April 29, 2026

TL;DR

• 4 out of the 10 worst European airports are in England, including the worst overall – Manchester.
• Our main metric, the LD60+ rate, is the number of flights departing from the airport that are delayed by 60 minutes or more as a percentage of the total annual flights. We also measured the average delay time.
• The AirAdvisor AirData® analyses all flights from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025.
• The longest average delay time is at Frankfurt Airport – 224.77 minutes (almost 4 hours). The worst delay rate is at Lisbon Airport at 7.17%.
• 6 out of 10 of the worst European airports experience frequent delays when routes travel to Amsterdam Airport Schiphol.

Jump to the top 10 ranking

Europe is a common connection point for world travellers. But whether you have a direct flight or a connection, a delay of an hour or more is inconvenient. And sometimes, it’s more than that. A long delay can have a cascading effect, resulting in missed flights, missed events, and even missed work. That’s why we compiled AirAdvisor AirData® on the 10 worst European airports for 60+ minute delays. 

We’ll explore which airports have the highest delay rates, how long the worst delays last on average, and the most delay-prone routes from each. Then, passengers will know what to expect on their next European journey.

Methodology

The AirAdvisor AirData® comes from the flights at the 46 European airports with the highest counts of 60+minute delays from 1 January to 31 December 2025. We examined:

• LD60+ rate = The total annual 60+ minute arrival delays from the airport divided by the total annual flights.
• Delay time = The average delay in minutes, where 60 minutes is the minimum.

Higher values indicate worse performance, which means the airports rank lower. We ranked each airport out of 46, where 1 was the worst, for both metrics. Then, we applied weights as follows:

• 70% to the LD60+ rate
• 30% to the average delay time

All this info is compiled into a top 10 list of the worst European airports for hour-long + delays, with a priority placed on not getting delayed in the first place (LD60+).

Key findings

• Manchester Airport scored the combined worst for LD60+ and average delay time.
• Lisbon Airport (#11 overall) has the highest chance of a 60+ minute delay – 7.17%.
• The European airport with the longest average delay time is Frankfurt (224.77 minutes), but it has a much lower chance of hour+ delays – 2.37%.
• The top 10 consists only of mid-size airports, ranging from 138,823 annual flights to as few as 58,552. Giants like London Heathrow and Paris Charles de Gaulle actually fare better for delays.
• At 6 out of 10 of the worst European airports for hour+ delays, the route to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport (AMS) is among the most delayed.

Ranking – the 10 worst airports in Europe for 60+ minute delays

The 3 worst European airports for 1 hour+ delays

#1

#1 Manchester Airport (MAN)

Manchester is just one of four UK airports in the top 10 worst for 60+ minute delays. While neither LD60+ nor the average delay is the worst in Europe, when combined, Manchester Airport presents the highest risk for disruptions.

• The LD60+ rate is the third-highest in the top 10 at 6.16%. It’s number 1 because the airports with higher 60+ minute delays have better average delay times.
• The most commonly delayed route is to Amsterdam, which is delayed 6.39% of the time – higher than the airport’s annual average. 
• Luckily, there are many alternative airports close by that don’t make our top 10. For example, Liverpool and Leeds Bradford are 60 miles or less away and don’t have the same high likelihood of delays.

#2

#2 Palma de Mallorca Airport (PMI)

Palma de Mallorca’s delay rate is lower, but the average delay time is higher, so PMI earns the title as the second-worst European airport for 60+ minute delays.

• LD60+ rate of 6.37%, one position worse than Manchester.
• Lower average delay time than Manchester Airport by 2 minutes.
• Similar volume of flights as Manchester, and the route from Palma de Mallorca to Frankfurt has a higher-than-average delay rate of 8.11%.
• If your itinerary with PMI involves a connection, it’s best to build in extra time. Since this is the only airport on the island, there are no suitable alternative airports.

#3

#3 John Paul II Kraków Balice International Airport (KRK)

Krakow Airport only operates about 40% of the flights that MAN and PMI do, but it has the highest average delay time in the top 10.

• While KRK has a slightly lower 60+-minute delay rate of 4.99%, the average delay time is significant at 138.23 minutes. That’s an average of well over 2 hours.
• The routes with the most delays are to large European hubs, like Frankfurt, Amsterdam, and Munich.
• With significant delay times here, you’ll need lots of extra time for connections, and to minimise the chance of delays, Katowice International Airport (about an hour away) is likely a better option.

How to use this delay information to your advantage

A quick check of this list can help you plan better European travel in 2026 and beyond. Swap airports to cut down on the delay risk, and don’t book tight connections. Avoid flights from Manchester and Krakow in favour of Liverpool and Katowice, and if you have to use Palma de Mallorca, leave plenty of time to make your eventual connection. 

You can also prepare for inconvenient long delays by knowing your European passenger rights.

Certain flight delays qualify for care and assistance during the wait and even flight delay compensation when the delay is at least 3 hoursAirAdvisor can help you file a claim easily to maximise your payout.Check Your Flight

Data Use Rights

AirAdvisor publishes AirData® insights based on aggregated flight performance data analysed for consumer information purposes. Journalists, researchers, and industry professionals are welcome to reference these findings with attribution. Please cite the source as: “Data source: AirAdvisor AirData®” and include a link to the original page where the data appears. The full dataset is available upon request.

For media inquiries, data clarifications, or reuse permissions beyond citation, please contact press@airadvisor.com.

FAQs

Press highlights

• The overall worst European airport for 60+ minute delays is Manchester.
• The worst delays occur at mid-size airports, not large hubs.
• Lisbon has the highest delay rate of 60 minutes or more; Frankfurt has the longest average delay time.

Our findings are based on two factors: the likelihood of hour-long delays and the average time of the delay. We ranked each of the 46 airports and weighted the total points using 70% for departing flights delayed by 60 minutes or more (LD60+), and 30% for the average delay length.

The complete data set is available on request.

Source: AirAdvisor AirData® analysis of 9,594,711 flights from 1 January 2025 to 31 December 2025, measuring LD60+ arrival delays + average delay time.

Author:

Amy Lancelotte

Job/Position: Senior Writer & Content Strategist

Amy Lancelotte is a Senior Content Writer and editorial contributor at AirAdvisor with over seven years of experience producing research-based articles for international audiences. Her work focuses on travel, aviation, and air passenger rights, with an emphasis on factual accuracy, verified data, and clear, reader-first explanations.

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