In short: Any flight departing from Belfast International Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to Belfast from an EU airport are covered by EU261 – the conditions are the same. If the airline turns your claim down, you can escalate to its ADR scheme or to the CAA, and then to the small claims court.
About the airport
Belfast International handled 45,244 commercial flights in 2025 according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the 11th-highest number among the 25 UK airports the CAA reports on. The busiest airlines here were easyJet, Ryanair, Jet2; the busiest destinations Edinburgh, London, Manchester.
Every flight departing from Belfast International is covered by UK261, whatever the airline. Flights arriving here are covered by EU261 if they depart from an EU airport, and by UK261 if a UK or EU airline operates them from elsewhere.
How punctual is Belfast International? (2025)
- Flights operated
- 45,244
- On time (≤ 15 min late)
- 78.7%
- 3 hours or more late
- 0.54%
- Cancelled
- 0.51%
- Average delay
- 12.7 min
2025, at UK airports
close to the UK average (72.7%)
1 in 185 flights · close to the UK average
230 flights · better than the UK average
UK average 15.1 min
Source: UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics 2025 – departures and arrivals combined, measured against the schedule at the UK airport. How we use this data
Airlines at Belfast International
| Airline | Flights | On time | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| easyJet | 32,331 | 79.5% | 0.48% | 0.64% | 12 min |
| Ryanair | 7,954 | 77.6% | 0.51% | 0.24% | 13 min |
| Jet2 | 4,280 | 78.7% | 0.77% | 0.05% | 14 min |
| TUI Airways | 603 | 53.0% | 1.82% | 0.00% | 32 min |
Top destinations from Belfast International – and what a delay is worth
The 30 busiest destinations in 2025, with the compensation for a 3-hour-plus delay or a late cancellation: UK261 (£) on the way out, and on the way back EU261 (€) from EU airports or UK261 with a UK/EU airline.
| Destination | Flights | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Distance | From BFS | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Edinburgh | 3,808 | 0.52% | 0.65% | 230 km | £220 | £220 |
| London | 3,779 | 0.34% | 0.32% | 528 km | £220 | £220 |
| Manchester | 3,775 | 0.76% | 0.74% | 295 km | £220 | £220 |
| London | 2,795 | 0.32% | 0.43% | 561 km | £220 | £220 |
| Liverpool | 2,632 | 0.72% | 0.87% | 265 km | £220 | £220 |
| Birmingham | 2,468 | 0.32% | 0.64% | 383 km | £220 | £220 |
| Glasgow | 2,352 | 0.30% | 0.51% | 176 km | £220 | £220 |
| London | 2,288 | 0.26% | 0.44% | 497 km | £220 | £220 |
| Newcastle | 1,770 | 0.45% | 0.28% | 293 km | £220 | £220 |
| Alicante | 1,758 | 0.85% | 0.57% | 1,870 km | £350 | €400 |
| Bristol | 1,713 | 0.12% | 0.64% | 433 km | £220 | £220 |
| Málaga | 1,618 | 1.11% | 0.37% | 2,004 km | £350 | €400 |
| Faro | 1,569 | 0.44% | 0.38% | 1,966 km | £350 | €400 |
| Palma de Mallorca | 1,371 | 0.92% | 1.08% | 1,808 km | £350 | €400 |
| Tenerife | 1,172 | 0.34% | 0.00% | 3,075 km | £350 | €400 |
| Lanzarote | 1,023 | 0.59% | 0.00% | 2,920 km | £350 | €400 |
| Paris | 808 | 0.37% | 0.86% | 869 km | £220 | €250 |
| Kraków | 575 | 0.17% | 0.52% | 1,825 km | £350 | €400 |
| Reus | 459 | 1.09% | 0.22% | 1,598 km | £350 | €400 |
| Amsterdam | 454 | 0.22% | 1.73% | 771 km | £220 | €250 |
| Leeds | 382 | 1.04% | 1.04% | 309 km | £220 | £220 |
| Dalaman | 377 | 1.33% | 0.26% | 3,318 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Southampton | 337 | 1.78% | 0.30% | 526 km | £220 | £220 |
| Antalya | 335 | 0.00% | 0.59% | 3,423 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Gran Canaria | 330 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3,063 km | £350 | €400 |
| East Midlands | 310 | 0.96% | 0.32% | 380 km | £220 | £220 |
| Fuerteventura | 270 | 1.47% | 0.74% | 2,978 km | £350 | €400 |
| Prague | 254 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1,473 km | £220 | €250 |
| Geneva | 253 | 0.00% | 1.17% | 1,276 km | £220 | €250 |
| Ibiza | 235 | 0.43% | 0.84% | 1,845 km | £350 | €400 |
All routes from Belfast International: route list · UK delay statistics
Air traffic flow delays at Belfast International (2025)
EUROCONTROL records the delay imposed on arriving flights when the airport or the airspace around it cannot take more traffic (air traffic flow management, “ATFM”). In 2025, 27,481 flights arrived at BFS; 0 of them were held back this way, 0 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.00 minutes per arrival.
What caused the ATFM delay
Average ATFM delay per arrival by month (min)
- J
- F
- M
- A
- M
- J
- J
- A
- S
- O
- N
- D
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 20,587 arrivals, 0.00 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025).
Check what happened at BFS on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (0% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (0%) or airport limits – causes airlines often cite as extraordinary circumstances. They are only part of the story: most long delays come from the airline’s own operation (technical faults, crew, late inbound aircraft), which this data does not show. Source: EUROCONTROL.
Delays at Belfast International in numbers
- In 2025, 78.7% of flights at Belfast International were on time or less than 15 minutes late (UK average 72.7%).
- 0.54% of flights – about 1 in 185 – were 3 hours or more late, the threshold for compensation if the airline was responsible.
- 0.51% of planned flights were cancelled (230 flights; UK average 1.04%).
- The average delay was 12.7 minutes (UK average 15.1 minutes).
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
Check your flight from Belfast
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Local information
- Complaints about UK261 go first to the airline; if it is a member of an alternative dispute resolution scheme (AviationADR or CEDR), you can escalate there after 8 weeks or a final response – otherwise to the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team. See our how-to-claim guide.
- Time limits in the UK: 6 years in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, 5 years in Scotland.
- Keep your boarding pass, booking confirmation and receipts for meals, transport or a hotel – you can claim reasonable costs back if the airline did not provide care.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from Belfast International Airport?
Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from Belfast International Airport can give £220, £350 or £520 depending on distance, under the same conditions as EU261.
Can I claim compensation for a flight arriving at Belfast International Airport?
If the flight departed from an EU airport: yes, under EU261, with any airline. If it departed from outside the EU and the UK: only if a UK or EU airline operated it.
How is the length of the delay measured?
By your arrival time at your final destination – more precisely, the moment the aircraft door opens at the gate. It must be at least 3 hours after the scheduled arrival time.
Related guides
- Flight delay compensation
- Missed connection compensation
- National enforcement bodies and ADR
- All airports
Information only, not legal advice. Passenger figures are approximate and based on the airports' published statistics; punctuality figures are from the UK Civil Aviation Authority. We earn a commission when a claim submitted through our partner links is successful.
Sources
- Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
- EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
- UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority
- Delays and cancellations – your rights – UK Civil Aviation Authority
We check every rule against the sources above. Spotted an error? Tell us – see our editorial policy.