In short: Any flight departing from London City Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to London 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
London City handled 47,493 commercial flights in 2025 according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the 10th-highest number among the 25 UK airports the CAA reports on. The busiest airlines here were British Airways, KLM, ITA Airways; the busiest destinations Amsterdam, Milan, Edinburgh.
Every flight departing from London City 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 London City? (2025)
- Flights operated
- 47,493
- On time (≤ 15 min late)
- 76.4%
- 3 hours or more late
- 0.20%
- Cancelled
- 1.54%
- Average delay
- 11.9 min
2025, at UK airports
close to the UK average (72.7%)
1 in 500 flights · better than the UK average
744 flights · worse 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 London City
| Airline | Flights | On time | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Airways | 29,482 | 77.1% | 0.26% | 1.11% | 12 min |
| KLM | 4,506 | 76.2% | 0.13% | 3.22% | 11 min |
| ITA Airways | 4,242 | 81.0% | 0.07% | 0.38% | 9 min |
| Luxair | 2,951 | 72.2% | 0.13% | 2.03% | 13 min |
| SWISS | 2,344 | 63.8% | 0.00% | 2.13% | 16 min |
| Air Dolomiti | 1,528 | 74.7% | 0.00% | 2.49% | 12 min |
| Aurigny | 1,145 | 77.9% | 0.58% | 5.68% | 11 min |
| Loganair | 777 | 81.2% | 0.00% | 3.48% | 8 min |
| LOT Polish Airlines | 518 | 78.0% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 10 min |
Top destinations from London City – and what a delay is worth
The 26 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 LCY | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amsterdam | 7,597 | 0.19% | 2.23% | 335 km | £220 | €250 |
| Milan | 4,394 | 0.09% | 0.86% | 956 km | £220 | €250 |
| Edinburgh | 4,128 | 0.19% | 1.31% | 543 km | £220 | £220 |
| Zurich | 3,967 | 0.08% | 1.37% | 760 km | £220 | €250 |
| Dublin | 3,380 | 0.03% | 1.37% | 478 km | £220 | €250 |
| Luxembourg | 2,951 | 0.13% | 2.03% | 482 km | £220 | €250 |
| Frankfurt | 2,921 | 0.24% | 1.85% | 620 km | £220 | €250 |
| Glasgow | 2,650 | 0.11% | 1.08% | 568 km | £220 | £220 |
| Berlin | 2,184 | 0.05% | 0.73% | 926 km | £220 | €250 |
| Rotterdam | 1,826 | 0.22% | 0.98% | 306 km | £220 | €250 |
| Belfast | 1,511 | 0.07% | 1.05% | 526 km | £220 | £220 |
| Florence | 1,388 | 0.50% | 1.07% | 1,193 km | £220 | €250 |
| Rome | 1,207 | 0.17% | 0.17% | 1,421 km | £220 | €250 |
| Guernsey | 1,145 | 0.58% | 5.68% | – | – | – |
| Ibiza | 1,108 | 0.63% | 0.89% | 1,408 km | £220 | €250 |
| Nice | 883 | 1.33% | 2.43% | 1,023 km | £220 | €250 |
| Isle Of Man | 777 | 0.00% | 3.48% | – | – | – |
| Palma de Mallorca | 633 | 0.47% | 1.40% | 1,345 km | £220 | €250 |
| Málaga | 587 | 0.51% | 1.01% | 1,688 km | £350 | €400 |
| Vilnius | 518 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 1,711 km | £350 | €400 |
| Barcelona | 349 | 0.28% | 3.32% | 1,146 km | £220 | €250 |
| Geneva | 345 | 0.57% | 0.86% | 734 km | £220 | €250 |
| Faro | 234 | 0.00% | 0.43% | 1,731 km | £350 | €400 |
| San Sebastian | 154 | 0.65% | 0.00% | – | – | – |
| Bergerac | 134 | 0.00% | 0.00% | – | – | – |
| Skiathos | 107 | 0.00% | 0.00% | 2,272 km | £350 | €400 |
All routes from London City: route list · UK delay statistics
Air traffic flow delays at London City (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, 25,606 flights arrived at LCY; 270 of them were held back this way, 144 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.24 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
Worst days: 18 December 2025 – 995 minutes, mostly weather; 3 March 2025 – 800 minutes, mostly weather; 3 September 2025 – 638 minutes, mostly weather.
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 18,243 arrivals, 0.39 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (86%) and equipment (ATC) (9%).
Check what happened at LCY on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (100% 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 London City in numbers
- In 2025, 76.4% of flights at London City were on time or less than 15 minutes late (UK average 72.7%).
- 0.20% of flights – about 1 in 500 – were 3 hours or more late, the threshold for compensation if the airline was responsible.
- 1.54% of planned flights were cancelled (744 flights; UK average 1.04%).
- The average delay was 11.9 minutes (UK average 15.1 minutes).
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
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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 London City Airport?
Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from London City 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 London City 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.