Picture the scene. It’s the first day of your holiday, you’ve got your bags all packed, kids are in tow, you just want to get there. But you’re scuppered by a delay to your journey. And that delay is looking likely to be a significant one. It’s every holiday maker’s worst nightmare.
Amidst news stories full of mass cancellations, power cuts and huge delays, a new study has revealed that of all the UK airports, London Heathrow is the worst culprit for delays, and therefore the airport you need to arrive at the earliest in order to make your flight.
For many Berkshire holiday makers, this means bad news, with Heathrow one of our closest airports. So why are things so bad for passengers?
Mostly, it’s primarily due to the delays caused by the 79.15 million yearly terminal passengers that travel through the site.
The airport also has problems with traffic, with approximately 3.17 million vehicles passing through the surrounding area each year. Security times for Heathrow are less intense than other airports, however, reporting an average wait of 20 minutes.
New data, gathered by compensation experts claims.co.uk, combines local authority traffic data from airport regions, yearly terminal passenger data and security times to create a ranking of Britain’s airports and their efficiency.
This study comes after British airports have experienced delays, due to changes in luggage liquid limits, power cuts, strikes, new technology and summer holiday rushes.
Reflecting on these results, a spokesperson from claims.co.uk offered the following advice to passengers planning their airport arrival times: “There’s a fine balance between arriving within plenty of time of your flight and wasting hours standing in line.
“Huge queues at Birmingham Airport in the early hours of the morning are a partial consequence of worried passengers arriving deliberately very early for their flights. There’s rarely ever a reason to arrive at 6AM if your flight is at 4PM. You should always aim to be at the airport three hours before your flight, particularly if you’re travelling via one of the top airports on this list.
“It is always better to spend a little more time browsing in duty free, or sat in a coffee shop, than to risk missing your holiday, or being stranded. Make sure to check your local news and social media for updates on airport queues on the day of your flight and follow your airline’s advice. Always head to your gate as soon as it opens. Following this advice should guarantee a stress-free start to your summer holiday.”
