Luggage piles up at Terminal 1 at Pearson International Airport. Photo / Getty Images
Facing major disruption, more passengers are asking when are the best times and routes to travel. Planning is more essential than ever for smooth air travel given the past month’s hiccups.
A tidal wave of delays and cancellations arrived at airports across Britain, the US and EU over June.
Luggage handling Glitches at Heathrow, labour shortages across American airports and last minute cancellations have led to travel misery. There were even accounts of pilots getting out of their planes to help clear the luggage backlog.
Last week there were 14,500 cancellations and 34,000 delays across the international airspace according to air traffic monitor FlightAware.
However, this disruption has affected passengers unequally. You can escape some of the chaos, if you pick the right airline, route and time to travel.
The best times to travel
According to the data from FlightRadar24 and OAG cargo of cancellations across the last month, the best times to fly are late mornings between 10 am and 1pm, reported the Telegraph.
Just 0.75 per cent of flights were cancelled in the hour before midday, making this off-peak period the safest time to fly.
The risk of cancellation rises for later flights. From 6pm to 7pm an average of 138 flights were cancelled – or roughly 3 per cent.
The best day to fly
Saturday is the best time to fly, according to the data. With only 157 departed scrapped, it’s far better bet than Sunday.
Sunday was no day of rest for those arranging travel with 256 flights cancelled out of the UK. Two percent of all flights were grounded, making it a day to avoid.
