Edinburgh delays on Sunday, 20 October 2024
Eurocontrol logged 1,152 minutes of air-traffic arrival delay at Edinburgh that day across 28 arrivals held 15 minutes or more out of 153 (18% of the day's arrivals), with 82% of the delay attributed to atc staffing. That makes it the 20th worst day at Edinburgh since January 2019.
Eurocontrol record · EGPH · 2024-10-20
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 staffing. 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
| Dublin | 7,081 min | Weather |
| London Gatwick | 5,331 min | Weather |
| London Heathrow | 4,066 min | Weather |
| Lisbon | 3,013 min | Weather |
| Frankfurt | 2,727 min | Weather |
| Warszawa Chopina | 2,666 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Tel Aviv Ben Gurion International | 1,262 min | ATC capacity |
| Amsterdam Schiphol | 1,236 min | Aerodrome capacity |
| Athens | 1,165 min | ATC capacity |
Other bad days at Edinburgh
| 14 November 2025 | 2,640 min | ATC equipment |
| 17 November 2025 | 2,556 min | ATC equipment |
| 20 November 2025 | 2,146 min | ATC equipment |
| 21 June 2025 | 2,100 min | ATC staffing |
| 24 June 2019 | 1,856 min | Weather |
| 2 September 2024 | 1,660 min | Weather |
| 13 December 2024 | 1,607 min | Special event |
| 23 October 2022 | 1,602 min | ATC staffing |
Questions
My flight from Edinburgh on 20 October 2024 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 Edinburgh's air-traffic delay to atc staffing and weather, 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 Edinburgh disruption on 20 October 2024 caused by weather?
Partly or wholly: 18% of the 1,152 logged minutes were coded as weather. The airport's own weather observations that day show no significant phenomena, lowest visibility 4796 m and strongest gust 42 kt.
Does a bad day at Edinburgh 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 Edinburgh.
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 Edinburgh delay days.