Biggin Hill delays on Sunday, 20 February 2022
Eurocontrol logged 380 minutes of air-traffic arrival delay at Biggin Hill that day across 9 arrivals held 15 minutes or more out of 72 (13% of the day's arrivals), with 100% of the delay attributed to atc capacity. That makes it the 30th worst day at Biggin Hill since January 2019.
Eurocontrol record · EGKB · 2022-02-20
Delay codes are Eurocontrol's IATA-standard causes. 100% of this day's delay sits in categories airlines usually plead as extraordinary circumstances.
Were you on a flight that day?
What this means if your flight was late
Under UK261 and EU261 you are owed £220, £350 or £520 (or €250, €400, €600) per passenger for arriving three hours or more late, unless the airline proves extraordinary circumstances that could not have been avoided even with all reasonable measures. Airport-wide records like this one are the airline's favourite evidence, and they cut both ways.
- Expect the airline to cite atc capacity. That is a real argument on this day, but it only covers delay actually caused by it. The airline must show the link to your flight and that it had reserve time and spare aircraft in place (Eglītis v Air Baltic). A flight that left late because the inbound aircraft was stuck on a technical fault is compensable whatever the weather did.
- Cancelled that day? Compensation depends on notice: under 14 days and no close re-routing means it is due, subject to the same extraordinary-circumstances test. You are always owed a refund or re-routing and care while you wait.
- Delayed under three hours? No fixed compensation, but food, drink and communications were owed after two hours on a short flight, and reasonable expenses are recoverable.
The free check pulls your flight's own record (actual arrival time against schedule) and pairs it with this day's data, so the verdict and the letter are specific to your flight, not to the airport.
Other airports the same day
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 3,047 min | Weather |
| Samedan | 2,017 min | Special event |
| Farnborough | 1,595 min | ATC capacity |
| Catania | 815 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Sion | 657 min | ATC capacity |
| London Luton | 589 min | ATC capacity |
| London Gatwick | 442 min | Equipment (non-ATC) |
| Paris Orly | 215 min | ATC staffing |
| London Heathrow | 181 min | Weather |
Other bad days at Biggin Hill
| 1 June 2024 | 6,054 min | Special event |
| 2 June 2024 | 2,459 min | Special event |
| 5 June 2022 | 2,344 min | Weather |
| 15 July 2024 | 1,443 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| 10 July 2022 | 1,167 min | Equipment (non-ATC) |
| 26 May 2023 | 1,004 min | ATC capacity |
| 1 September 2024 | 984 min | ATC capacity |
| 28 May 2022 | 953 min | ATC capacity |
Questions
My flight from Biggin Hill on 20 February 2022 was delayed. Can I claim compensation?
If you arrived at your final destination 3 hours or more late, the starting position is £220 to £520 per passenger depending on distance. The airline can refuse only by proving extraordinary circumstances that affected your specific flight. On this day Eurocontrol attributed 100% of Biggin Hill's air-traffic delay to atc capacity, so expect that argument; it still has to be linked to your flight. Run the free check on your flight number for the verified answer.
Was the Biggin Hill disruption on 20 February 2022 caused by weather?
No. Eurocontrol logged no weather-coded delay at Biggin Hill on this day; the delay was attributed to atc capacity.
Does a bad day at Biggin Hill mean every delayed flight is exempt from compensation?
No. Air-traffic delay attributed to an airport explains some of the day's lateness, not all of it, and it is the airline that must prove your flight's delay was caused by it and could not have been avoided with reasonable measures such as schedule buffers and spare aircraft. Flights delayed by a technical fault, crew shortage or a late inbound aircraft from an unaffected airport are compensable regardless of what happened at Biggin Hill.
Sources: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit, airport arrival ATFM delay by cause (daily); METAR observations via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet archive. This page describes the airport's day; your flight's own record decides your claim. All Biggin Hill delay days.