UK air traffic control service provider NATS has reported that flight punctuality remained high in April 2026, despite continued growth in air traffic.
According to the figures, almost 98 percent of UK flights operated on time during the month. Around 2.2 percent of flights experienced air traffic control-related delays, with an average delay time of 10 minutes for those affected.
April was the busiest month of the year so far for UK airspace. NATS handled 210,505 flights safely, an increase of 0.2 percent compared with the same month in the previous year.
Data from Eurocontrol indicated that UK airspace accounted for 24 percent of European traffic during the month, while the UK was responsible for 4.8 percent of total European air traffic delay.
Route trends showed growth in traffic linked to Spain, Italy and Portugal. However, non-transatlantic overflights decreased by 5.7 percent overall, with reductions noted on routes from Ireland to France and Spain.
Kathryn Leahy, Chief Operations Officer at NATS, said:We continue to do all we can to ensure resilient operations as air traffic ramps up towards the summer, and we’re pleased that our punctuality is right up with the best in Europe.
There are still many challenges across Europe with the continuing situation in the Middle East and continued closure of Ukraine’s airspace.
