Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA): flight delays and compensation

Leeds Bradford Airport. A UK airport: flights departing from here are covered by UK261, and flights to Leeds from the EU by EU261 – under the same conditions. Here is what to expect if your flight was delayed or cancelled here, or you were stranded.

By the EU261 Flight Delay editorial team Last reviewed: Reading time: 6 min How we write our guides

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In short: Any flight departing from Leeds Bradford Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to Leeds 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.

Live at Leeds (LBA) today

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About the airport

Leeds Bradford handled 32,120 commercial flights in 2025 according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the 14th-highest number among the 25 UK airports the CAA reports on. The busiest airlines here were Jet2, Ryanair, Aer Lingus; the busiest destinations Dublin, Alicante, Belfast.

Every flight departing from Leeds Bradford 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 Leeds Bradford? (2025)

Flights operated
32,120

2025, at UK airports

On time (≤ 15 min late)
73.6%

close to the UK average (72.7%)

3 hours or more late
0.68%

1 in 147 flights · worse than the UK average

Cancelled
1.22%

396 flights · worse than the UK average

Average delay
15.0 min

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 Leeds Bradford

AirlineFlightsOn time3 h+ lateCancelledAvg delay
Jet214,19873.1%0.66%0.42%16 min
Ryanair9,40277.1%0.62%0.66%13 min
Aer Lingus3,84774.5%0.65%4.56%14 min
KLM2,16066.8%0.63%2.61%18 min
Wizz Air1,01176.5%1.18%1.08%16 min
easyJet89467.8%1.43%1.65%19 min
TUI Airways25736.6%0.78%0.00%34 min
SunExpress25662.5%0.00%0.00%16 min

Top destinations from Leeds Bradford – 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.

DestinationFlights3 h+ lateCancelledDistanceFrom LBAReturn
Dublin3,5360.42%2.40%308 km£220€250
Alicante2,4500.65%0.61%1,735 km£350€400
Belfast2,2230.86%4.63%286 km£220£220
Amsterdam2,1600.63%2.61%462 km£220€250
Palma de Mallorca2,0971.14%0.43%1,626 km£350€400
Málaga1,8340.65%0.65%1,924 km£350€400
Tenerife1,3180.60%0.83%3,118 km£350€400
Faro1,2650.79%0.47%1,935 km£350€400
Lanzarote9640.93%0.52%2,935 km£350€400
Kraków8421.41%0.82%1,522 km£350€400
Antalya7750.52%0.13%3,116 km£350UK/EU airline only
Gdańsk6460.92%0.46%1,308 km£220€250
Fuerteventura6250.32%0.48%2,995 km£350€400
Bucharest6091.30%1.30%2,245 km£350€400
Ibiza5890.17%0.00%1,683 km£350€400
Paris5640.17%0.70%613 km£220€250
Dalaman4180.24%0.48%3,012 km£350UK/EU airline only
Riga4171.43%0.71%1,644 km£350€400
Gran Canaria4170.24%0.71%3,093 km£350€400
Girona3920.51%0.00%1,370 km£220€250
Belfast3791.30%1.56%309 km£220£220
Reus3560.56%0.00%1,430 km£220€250
Warsaw3451.16%0.00%1,519 km£350€400
Crete3260.31%0.31%2,926 km£350€400
Wrocław2970.00%1.00%1,289 km£220€250
Paphos2920.00%0.00%3,398 km£350€400
Geneva2560.77%1.92%1,012 km£220€250
Menorca2441.23%0.00%1,619 km£350€400
Larnaca2290.00%0.87%3,453 km£350€400
Corfu2280.88%0.00%2,267 km£350€400

All routes from Leeds Bradford: route list · UK delay statistics

Delays at Leeds Bradford in numbers

  • In 2025, 73.6% of flights at Leeds Bradford were on time or less than 15 minutes late (UK average 72.7%).
  • 0.68% of flights – about 1 in 147 – were 3 hours or more late, the threshold for compensation if the airline was responsible.
  • 1.22% of planned flights were cancelled (396 flights; UK average 1.04%).
  • The average delay was 15.0 minutes (UK average 15.1 minutes).

Airlines you are likely to fly with here

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What happened?Step 1 of 4

What happened to your flight?
Where did you fly from and to?

With a connection, enter your first departure and your final destination – compensation is based on the total distance.

Details
How late did you arrive at your final destination?

What counts is when the aircraft doors opened at your destination – not the departure delay.

When were you told about the cancellation?
When did you arrive on the replacement flight?
Flight details
Which airline operated the flight?
When was the flight?

How many passengers were on the booking?

1 passenger

Every passenger gets their own compensation, children too. Infants under 2 without their own seat do not count.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Fee only if successful (35%)
  • AirHelp: Trustpilot 4.5/5

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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 Leeds Bradford Airport?

Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from Leeds Bradford 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 Leeds Bradford 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

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

  1. Eurostat – air passenger transport routes between partner airports and main airports (2024) – Eurostat
  2. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority
  3. 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.