Why is my flight delayed? 10 reasons for flight delays

There is nothing worse than being on time for a flight, having everything ready, and then seeing a glaring sign on the flight board indicating that your flight is delayed. Depending on the particular complexity of the problem, the length of the delay for your trip can vary significantly, but did you know that up to 20% of flights experience delays of at least 15 minutes? Only a small percentage of passengers are aware of their right to compensation in the event that a flight is delayed by 3 hours or longer. Perhaps you're now curious as to why airline delays happen so frequently. There are several factors that can cause an aircraft to be delayed, including bad weather, labour shortages, technical difficulties, problems receiving cargo, and security clearance concerns. In this blog, we'll discuss some of the top 10 most frequent causes of flight delays so you can learn more about what happens on board the plane while you wait. During this time, if specific criteria are met and checked, you can use Flight-delayed.co.uk to make a compensation claim!

1. Flight delayed because of extreme weather conditions

A plane may decide to delay taking off until it is clear that it is safe to do so if the weather is highly unpredictable and significantly reduces visibility. Strong winds, thunderstorms, natural disasters, and other adverse weather conditions are examples. Unfortunately, extraordinary circumstances apply in this weather, thus airlines are not required to compensate passengers.

2. Less extreme weather conditions : will my flight be delayed?

Maybe there is only a thin layer of fog that will clear in about an hour rather than a thunderstorm. Because of the resulting decreased visibility, extra care and time are needed to ensure the safety of passengers and cabin crew.

3. Busy air traffic

The most frequently impacted airports are those with heavy traffic. A backlog of departing/arriving flights occurs when one flight experiences a delay, which increases the likelihood that a subsequent flight will also experience a delay.

4. Mechanical mishaps can also lead to delayed flights

 The repeated pre-departure checks that the flight crew conducts result in new problems being found between flight times that need to be resolved. During those testing, backup systems are activated to make sure they function properly. As pre-flight inspections are completed, the passenger and cargo are loaded. If an issue is discovered during the checks, maintenance is notified. After then, maintenance must arrive, address the issues, record the specifics, and so forth.

5. Late crew: another reason for flight delays

The plane might be waiting for crew to board from another trip, which would have a cascading effect on subsequent flights. But don't worry too much; there are generally workers ready to step in and swiftly replace any staff that is absent.

6. Airport staff strikes could force the airline to delay your flight

If any airport employees (airline staff, air traffic controllers, ground staff, etc.) go on strike demanding better working conditions and higher pay, it may result in fewer people working and longer processing times.

7. Longer than expected cleaning and prepping the aircraft

Before the plane can take off, a lot of things need to be in order on board: catering needs to be ready, further cleaning may be required, refuelling is running late, etcetera.

8. Baggage loading causing flight delay

There will be less staff available to handle loading the luggage into the aircraft if any employees are possibly absent. Bags are very heavy, thus it takes a lot of personnel to finish the job quickly.

9. Protection of passengers

Airlines typically postpone their departure by a certain amount of time when there are lengthy security queues and several passengers are impacted to ensure that the majority of passengers can board the aircraft safely.

10. Protection of aircraft

The airport and airline constantly ensure that everything is thoroughly inspected and that safety precautions are in top condition. Once everything is in good order, permission is granted to depart.

Don't forget that, despite the fact that they are unpleasant to endure, delays frequently serve to guarantee passenger safety and enhance everyone's flying experience. The best course of action is to attempt to unwind and wait patiently for your flight to resume its course since it probably won't take very long!