Airline delays increase by 55% while cancellations show slight improvements

Spain has slightly reduced cancellations, but has fallen from second to fifth place in the European ranking, according to the latest Flightright report for 2025.Thirty percent of flights were delayed, 55% more than the previous year, making punctuality one of the biggest challenges for airlines. Two Spanish airports stand out among the most reliable in Europe.

During 2025, 30.28% of flights in Spain suffered delays, compared to 19.05% in 2024. In absolute terms, this translates into 300,369 delayed flights, 107,143 more than the previous year, an increase of 55% that reflects a clear decline in punctuality and a direct impact on the passenger experience.

Compared to other European countries, Spain ranks in the middle in terms of punctuality. Across Europe, approximately one in three flights departed late in 2025, reflecting a significant level of incidents on a continental scale. The most punctual countries were Norway (20.20%), Sweden (23.66%), Denmark (24.87%), while the countries most affected by unpunctuality were Portugal (41.57%), Ireland (40.32%) and Greece (38.36%).

Cancellations

In terms of cancellations, Spain ranks as the fifth European country with the lowest rate, at 0.29%, slightly below the 0.31% recorded in 2024. Despite this improvement, the country has fallen from second to fifth place in the European ranking, as other countries have achieved more significant reductions.

The countries with the lowest cancellation rates in 2025 were Turkey (0.13%), Romania (0.14%), and Poland (0.24%), while the most affected were Finland (1.76%), the Netherlands (1.45%), and Belgium (1.21%).

Airports and airlines

Looking at the ranking of airports with the lowest cancellation rates, two Spanish airports made it into the top 5. Madrid-Barajas has 0.20% of flights canceled, behind London Stansted Airport (0.10%) and Warsaw-Chopin Airport (0.16%). In fourth place is Rome Airport (0.26%), and closing the ranking is Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport (0.30%).> In terms of those with the highest cancellation rates, Helsinki-Vantaa Airport (1.87%) has the highest. It is followed by Amsterdam-Schiphol (1.50%), Brussels (1.27%), Nice (1.21%), and Heathrow Airport (1.16%).Flightright has also analyzed the incidents of the 10 airlines with the highest volume of flights in 2025. Ryanair ranks as the airline with the lowest cancellation rate (0.23%), followed by Austrian Airlines (0.50%), easyJet (0.79%), Vueling (0.81%), and Scandinavian Airlines (0.82%).

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the airlines with the highest cancellation rates were KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (2.30%), Air France (1.40%), British Airways (1.18%), Swiss International (0.97%) and Lufthansa (0.85%).

An uneven picture

The 2025 data reflects an uneven evolution of air traffic in Europe: while some countries are making significant progress in reducing cancellations, delays remain a widespread challenge. In this context, Flightright stresses the importance of guaranteeing passengers' rights.

"The data shows that, despite progress in some markets, incidents remain commonplace in European air transport. It is essential that passengers know their rights and have a solid legal framework in place that allows them to claim when such incidents occur," concludes Lucía Cegarra, legal expert at Flightright.