Summer holidays: These are the UK's worst ranked airports for cancellations – including Gatwick, Heathrow and Stansted

The latest research by tax specialists, RIFT, reveals that while Heathrow may be the UK’s busiest major airport, Brits heading abroad this summer are best to avoid Glasgow Airport, as it ranks as the worst when it comes to the proportion of flights being cancelled.

RIFT analysed the number of annual flights and cancellations at each of the UK’s 10 busiest airports to see which provides the most efficient service to passengers.

Last year, a combined total of 221.8 million passengers passed through the UK’s 10 busiest airports.

Twenty-eight per cent, or 61.6 million, of these people travelled through Heathrow, making it the busiest airport in the nation.

Gatwick handled 32.8 million passengers (15%), while Manchester and Stansted (10.5%) each served an estimated 23.3 million passengers (11%).

However, when it comes to the possibility of flight cancellations throwing a spanner in the works for UK holidaymakers, it’s Glasgow Airport that is most likely to kick off your holiday on a sour note.

In 2022, 2.5% of all flights from Glasgow were cancelled and while this might not seem like many, it equates to almost 1,500 cancellations.

Heathrow does rank second when it comes to the frequency of cancelled flights. Of the 367,000 flights that were due to take off last year, Heathrow saw a cancellation rate of 1.7% or 6,391 flights.

Gatwick (3,472) and Edinburgh (1,363) also rank high with 1.6% of flights taken off the board

Meanwhile, Birmingham airport handled almost 69,000 flights in 2022 and managed a cancellation rate of just 0.6%, equivalent to less than 400 flights.

Stansted (0.7%) and Belfast International (0.8%) were also impressively reliable.

Bradley Post, MD of RIFT, said: “Given how many flights leave UK airports every day, it’s fair to say that the industry is highly efficient and reliable with cancellations kept at a minimum.

“In fact, if your holiday is going to get scuppered at the airport, it’s far more likely to be a passenger error than an airline error. Forgotten passports and out of date passports are always going to be leading contributors to ruined holidays.

“You’ve got to double check your passport well before you travel. And don’t forget, when a flight is cancelled by the airline, there’s a good chance of getting your money back. But if it’s your own fault that you can’t travel as planned, you’re not going to get any compensation whatsoever.”