The worst Australian airports for flight delays

Flight delayed – two words we all wish never existed when travelling!

After analysing the latest data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics, on the performance of domestic airports and airlines in Australia, Finder.com.au has put together a list of the busiest domestic airports with the lowest percentage of on-time departures.

Based on data collected between June 2015-16, it was revealed that Hobart Airport topped the charts as the worst airport (for a second year in a row), with more than 20% of all flights delayed.
Townsville Airport however came in first for flight punctuality, with less than 10% of departures behind schedule.

Sydney and Melbourne were outperformed by many of the other airports on the list, averaging roughly 16% of flights not departing on time.

In regards to domestic airlines, Jetstar came in as the least reliable for on-time travel, with 21.8% of passengers delayed, whilst Virgin was named the most punctual airline, averaging 89.5% of flights arriving on time, according to Finder.com.au.

The analysis also revealed that although domestic airline performance was slightly above the long-term average for both arrivals and departures, the rate of flight cancellations had increased by 0.2%.

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Bessie Hassan, money expert at Finder.com.au, says flight delays can be the result of many different factors, and urges travellers to always prepare for the worst case scenario when it comes to delays.

“From wild winds in Melbourne to floods in Adelaide, Australian airports can be at the mercy of the elements, but some airports are more prone to delays than others,” Hassan said.

If you do experience a delay or cancellation that’s out of your or the airline’s control, Hassan says you should be able to claim compensation through your travel insurance. “However, insurance providers usually only accept a claim if your flight is delayed more than 6 hours.”

She also stated the importance of not to leaving it too late to take out travel insurance, as for example, if you were to wait until after a natural disaster or a strike date was announced, you may not be covered for costs related to that event.

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Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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