The fear that a flight might be delayed or cancelled is the most dreaded part of any journey. This is especially true when it comes ... to summer holidays, which are usually the most eagerly anticipated, the most carefully planned and the time for the main break of the year.
The latest report from AirHelp, a company working to improve the experience of passengers, analyses the punctuality of flights during the third quarter: the busiest months at the Costa del Sol Airport. The data shows that almost three in ten flights were delayed or cancelled in the height of summer.
The information compiled in this ranking places Malaga Airport in 17th place out of the 23 airports on the list, which only includes those meeting the minimum requirement of 1,200 flights over the three-month study period.
The report puts the number of flights operated at Malaga Airport in the third quarter at over 24,340, of which 17,230 departed on time, that is to say, 70.8%, while 7,115 were affected by delays or cancellations. This is in line with the average recorded at the airports analysed.
A total of 6,960 flights suffered delays of at least 15 minutes and more than 150 were cancelled. As a result, a total of 42,200 passengers were entitled to compensation.
Regulations grant passengers a number of rights in the event of delays, cancellations, overbooking or missed connections. These include the right to food and drink after a delay of between two and four hours, depending on the flight distance, accommodation and transport when the incident forces passengers to spend the night away from home and the option to choose between an alternative flight or a full refund of the ticket in the event of cancellation, denied boarding, a missed connection or a delay of more than five hours.
Furthermore, passengers may be entitled to compensation of up to 600 euros per person where the incident is the airline's responsibility and is not due to extraordinary circumstances. The Montreal Convention provides protection against damage to, delay or loss of luggage, with compensation of up to 1,800 euros.
To facilitate any claim, it is advisable to keep all travel documentation, such as your boarding pass, communications from the airline and receipts for any expenses incurred as a result of the incident.
The report notes that during the third quarter of the year, three out of every ten flights taking off from a Spanish airport were delayed or cancelled. Of the more than 290,000 flights recorded at 44 Spanish airports between July and September, 30% experienced some sort of disruption, compared with 70% that operated on schedule.
In total, 88,000 flights were affected by incidents. Of these, 85,000 were delayed by at least 15 minutes and nearly 3,000 were cancelled. Furthermore, more than 22,000 flights accumulated delays of one hour or more, representing approximately 8% of the total analysed. Of these, 6,500 suffered delays of at least two hours and 2,400 of three hours or more.
Airhelp has named Asturias Airport as the most punctual airport, with 84% of flights departing on time. It was followed by Bilbao, with 81%, and Santiago de Compostela, with 80%. Melilla, with 80%, and Santander, with 79% also performed well.
At the other end is Palma de Mallorca Airport, which recorded the lowest punctuality rate of all the airports in the ranking, at 59%, followed by Ibiza and Reus, which both recorded 64%, and Barcelona, at 65%. Meanwhile, Alicante recorded 66% of flights arriving on time and Valencia 67%. Madrid-Barajas reached 74%, placing it in the middle.