Summer 2024 getaway: Airline passengers face heavy delays and disruption as they jet off in record numbers

Exclusive: Air-traffic controllers at Gatwick will be handling a take-off or landing every 65 seconds

Check point: Entrance to the security area at Birmingham airport (Simon Calder)

As the peak summer 2024 getaway begins, airline travellers face delays and disruption – with many UK airports setting records for outbound passengers.

Many schools across England and Wales break up this week, with the third weekend in July traditionally bringing maximum pressure on airports and airlines.

Aviation analytics firm Cirium says Friday 19 July is set to be the busiest day for UK flights since 2019, with over 3,214 departures alone. That is an average of one flight taking off every 27 seconds.

Extreme pressure on air-traffic control across Europe has resulted in widespread delays and cancellations in the past month, with airlines including Ryanair warning of further trouble ahead unless more controllers are deployed.

Data released by Eurocontrol shows that last Friday, 12 July, only 52 per cent of flights handled by the pan-European coordinator departed on time – with just 46 per cent arriving on time.

Delays typically build up during the day, with some airlines cancelling flights as crew run “out of hours”. Over the past few weekends, dozens of departures to and from the UK have been grounded, particularly in the evening.

Travellers are also apprehensive about possible delays at major UK airports, as passenger numbers soar to record levels.

At Birmingham airport – which has seen long queues for security earlier in the summer – new facilities have been erected for “pre-security” checks at peak times. The aim is to ensure passengers are compliant with the “liquids rules” before they enter the actual checkpoints.

Last month the government rescinded the easing of rules on laptops and liquids in passenger baggage, sowing yet more confusion among passengers.

Al Titterington, terminal operations director of Birmingham airport, said: “We are preparing for our busiest-ever summer.

“We have put in robust plans, including extra contingency plans for issues that may occur out of our control to assist everyone on their journey through the airport.”

Birmingham airport says that the typical maximum queuing time is 45 minutes, with most passengers getting through in 10 minutes.

London Heathrow reports that 99 per cent of passengers wait less than 10 minutes.

Across at London Gatwick, head of passenger operations Nick Williams told The Independent that 95 per cent of passengers clear security in under five minutes.

Gatwick is the world’s busiest single-runway airport, handling over 900 departing and arriving aircraft on the busiest days.

At peak times air-traffic controllers handle 55 movements per hour – a rate of one landing or take-off every 65 seconds.

But on occasions when the runway is closed, as happened at the end of June, diversions and cancellations begin almost at once.

After a British Airways 777 departing to Vancouver rejected take off and halted in the middle of the runway, planes diverted to airports including Bournemouth and Brussels.

London Stansted says its security operation is “performing well”. All but 3 per cent of passengers clear security in under 15 minutes, with an average queue time of six minutes in the peaks in June.

The main airline at the Essex airport is Ryanair, which expects to handle more than half a million passengers over the weekend through Stansted and 21 other UK airports.

Three of the top four sunshine destinations are in Spain – Alicante, Malaga and Palma – as well as Faro in Portugal.

The leading city breaks are to Dublin, Barcelona, Rome and Venice.

From Newcastle, the top four is Palma, Alicante, Antalya and Dubai. The airport expects to handle over 11,000 passengers per day from Friday to Monday.

East Midlands airport is expecting Friday 19 July to be one of the three busiest of the summer, with 19,400 passengers passing through.

While many days will see more than 100,000 passengers passing through Stansted, the busiest days are forecast to be in August – with Friday 23 peaking at 107,000 .

The top destination is Istanbul.

Manchester airport also says 23 August will be busiest, with 111,000 passengers. In the top six destinations, two – Antalya and Dalaman – are in Turkey, with the others being Palma, Dublin, Amsterdam and Dubai.

Liverpool John Lennon airport expects Friday 19 July to be busiest, with 22 per cent more passengers than on the corresponding day in last year. Two of the top five destinations are on the island of Ireland – Dublin and Belfast – along with Palma, Malaga and Alicante.

At Edinburgh airport, the earlier school summer holidays in Scotland mean that the peak weekend was 13-14 July. The busiest day on record was 24 June, with 55,830 passengers.