From choosing a place to stay to organizing activities and packing, a trip typically requires several months of preparation. So, what could be more unpleasant than arriving at the airport only to discover that your flight has been canceled?
A situation we want to avoid at all costs and which, fortunately, remains relatively rare, but that nonetheless affects some travelers, no matter which airport they are at.
To determine which European airports are most affected, Maaltalk, a company offering eSIMs usable across Europe, analyzed the air traffic of 115 airports over the past 30 days to identify those with the highest cancellation rates.
The United Kingdom has several airports strongly affected by cancellations
Leading the list of airports with the most cancellations is London City Airport, with 3.70% of its flights canceled during the studied 30-day period. Of the 3,597 scheduled flights, 133 were canceled, roughly one cancellation for every 27 flights. Inverness Airport in Scotland follows in second place with a cancellation rate of 3.43%. Of the 379 scheduled flights, 13 were canceled. Belfast City Airport closes the podium with a 3.17% rate, after canceling 37 of its 1,168 flights.
In fourth place, London Luton Airport shows a 3.13% cancellation rate, with 105 cancellations out of 3,358 scheduled flights. It is followed closely by Aberdeen Airport in Scotland, with 31 cancellations out of 1,002 flights, a 3.09% rate. From England to Scotland, and including Northern Ireland, this top five is therefore made up exclusively of airports located in the United Kingdom. Only in seventh place does the ranking move outside the British Isles, with EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg, which records a 2.45% cancellation rate, with 148 cancellations out of 6,046 flights in total.
Several French airports report fewer than 1% cancellations
The two French airports with the highest number of cancellations are Bordeaux, with 48 cancellations out of 2,155, i.e., a rate of 2.23%, and Lille, which closes the top 10 with a cancellation rate of 2.20%, after six cancellations on 273 scheduled flights. Apart from these two airports, France generally performs fairly well, as several of its airports record a minimal cancellation rate. This is notably the case for Strasbourg Airport, with only two cancellations on 208 flights, a 0.96% rate. The same goes for Brest Airport, which has four cancellations on 415 flights.
Among the best-ranked French airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle stands out, with many airlines present, reporting a cancellation rate of 0.82%, i.e., 467 cancellations on 56,612 flights. Lyon Airport records a cancellation rate of 0.78%, with 59 cancellations on 7,518 flights, while Paris-Orly shows a rate of 0.77% after 125 cancellations on 16,234 flights.
Amara Nambinga
