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Manchester flight delays: the record, day by day

Eurocontrol attributes air-traffic delay to Manchester on the days it happens, with the cause. On its 25 worst days since 2019 the airport lost 104,350 minutes of arrival delay, mostly to weather and aerodrome capacity. Days with nothing logged are a strong point for any passenger whose flight was late for another reason.

Was your Manchester flight 3 hours late?

The day the flight was due to leave, in local time where it left. For an overnight flight, that is the evening you set off.

Same flight number twice that day? Add the departure code

Free. No account. The airline is not contacted.

Worst days on record

DateDelay minLateCause
27 December 202412,423156Weather
7 January 20259,609108Weather
15 December 20258,802124Aerodrome capacity
28 December 20246,065116Weather
12 October 20255,54688Weather
26 December 20244,33587Weather
9 January 20254,15780Weather
20 February 20264,155101Aerodrome capacity
6 January 20253,78876Weather
19 December 20213,62574Weather
15 February 20263,18483Aerodrome capacity
10 January 20253,12049Weather
20 December 20252,98371Aerodrome capacity
14 December 20252,94987Aerodrome capacity
11 February 20242,93769Weather

Most recent days with delay logged

DateDelay minLateCause
22 September 20262,23249Weather
19 September 20264807Aerodrome capacity
10 September 2026321Aerodrome capacity
9 September 20261,01617Aerodrome capacity
8 September 202650Aerodrome capacity
6 September 2026220Aerodrome capacity
31 August 20261744Aerodrome capacity
20 August 20261,14625Aerodrome capacity
18 August 202652317Aerodrome capacity
4 August 20262695Aerodrome capacity
2 August 202690Aerodrome capacity
22 July 20261091Equipment (non-ATC)
13 July 20261,47038Aerodrome capacity
10 July 202675218Weather
9 July 20261903Aerodrome capacity

Data to 30 September 2026. Eurocontrol publishes about a month in arrears.

What usually goes wrong at Manchester

Weather51%
Aerodrome capacity46%
Equipment (non-ATC)2%
ATC capacity2%

Share of logged delay minutes across the worst and most recent days shown above. Weather, ATC staffing, ATC capacity and equipment failures are the causes airlines most often plead as extraordinary; airport capacity and unspecified delay are arguable.

Airlines based at Manchester

easyJet compensationRyanair compensationJet2.com compensationTUI Airways compensationVirgin Atlantic compensationAer Lingus compensation

Questions

Is a delay at Manchester caused by weather always an extraordinary circumstance?

No. The airline must show that the weather actually affected your flight and that it took all reasonable measures. Eurocontrol logs weather delay at Manchester on specific days; if your day is not one of them, the weather defence has nothing behind it. If it is, the airline still has to connect it to your flight.

How do I find out if my Manchester flight was delayed 3 hours?

Enter the flight number and date in the checker above. It pulls the recorded arrival time, works out the delay against the schedule, and shows what Eurocontrol and the airport weather logged for Manchester that day.

Which airlines' passengers can claim after a Manchester delay?

Any airline departing Manchester is covered by UK261 regardless of nationality. Arrivals are covered when the airline is a UK or EU carrier (for UK261).

Source: Eurocontrol Performance Review Unit, airport arrival ATFM delay by cause, daily. See also your rights and the compensation calculator.