Passengers experiencing flight cancellations out of the UK have risen compared to the same period last year, with over 2.4 million people having their flight called off in the first half of 2024, new data shows. Airport strikes and IT outages are some of the many factors that have been named as leading to mass flight cancellations so far this year, with more than 2.
4 million passengers having their flights cancelled when travelling between January and June 2024 – almost triple the figure from the same time in 2023. There have been around 450,800 registered flights departing from the UK during that period, amounting to more than 79 million people who had planned a trip out of UK airports . Approximately three per cent of these passengers had experienced flight cancellations, according to data collected by travel tech company AirHelp.
Even more people experienced disruptions to their flights, with around 24.4 million passengers experiencing some sort of disturbance to their flight and travel plans. Focusing on routes with 20,0000 passengers and over, there were some that particularly stood out as having the highest rate of cancellations in the first half this year.
Some well-known holiday destinations appeared high on the list of most cancelled UK routes, with flights from Manchester International Airport to Menorca Airport in Spain taking top spot with a 24 per cent cancellation rate, affecting 7,700 passengers. Second on the list was Sumburgh, a Highlands and Islands airpor.