In short: Any flight departing from London Stansted Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to London from an EU airport are covered by EU261 – the conditions are the same. UK261 applies to every departure. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is the enforcement body; many UK airlines belong to a CAA-approved ADR scheme (AviationADR or CEDR). Time limit: 6 years in England and Wales, 5 years in Scotland.
Live at London (STN) today
About the airport
Stansted is Ryanair's largest base anywhere and the main London airport for low-cost flights to Spain, Italy, Poland, Ireland and many other European destinations. Jet2 also operates holiday flights from here.
Departures from Stansted fall under UK261; flights from EU airports to Stansted fall under EU261. The amounts and conditions are the same in substance.
How punctual is London Stansted? (2025)
- Flights operated
- 179,551
- On time (≤ 15 min late)
- 69.7%
- 3 hours or more late
- 0.46%
- Cancelled
- 0.31%
- Average delay
- 16.3 min
2025, at UK airports
close to the UK average (72.7%)
1 in 217 flights · better than the UK average
558 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 London Stansted
| Airline | Flights | On time | 3 h+ late | Cancelled | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 141,592 | 69.0% | 0.46% | 0.27% | 17 min |
| Jet2 | 15,053 | 72.4% | 0.58% | 0.07% | 15 min |
| easyJet | 6,957 | 79.8% | 0.44% | 0.83% | 11 min |
| Pegasus Airlines | 5,314 | 71.7% | 0.34% | 0.45% | 14 min |
| AJet | 2,148 | 70.3% | 0.05% | 0.23% | 14 min |
| SunExpress | 1,742 | 65.4% | 0.46% | 0.46% | 17 min |
| TUI Airways | 1,727 | 54.5% | 0.75% | 0.12% | 24 min |
| Emirates | 1,460 | 84.8% | 0.07% | 0.14% | 7 min |
| Fly Play Hf | 461 | 81.5% | 0.41% | 6.49% | 9 min |
| Hisky | 457 | 52.2% | 0.66% | 0.22% | 24 min |
| Royal Jordanian | 386 | 77.1% | 0.00% | 0.52% | 11 min |
| British Airways | 369 | 43.5% | 2.62% | 2.12% | 37 min |
| Transavia | 329 | 90.3% | 0.00% | 0.60% | 6 min |
| Air Algerie | 317 | 56.2% | 1.58% | 0.00% | 24 min |
| Fly One | 242 | 78.7% | 2.46% | 0.82% | 17 min |
Top destinations from London Stansted – 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 STN | Return |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dublin | 5,930 | 0.30% | 0.13% | 471 km | £220 | €250 |
| Istanbul | 5,305 | 0.17% | 0.43% | 2,518 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Edinburgh | 4,356 | 0.57% | 0.48% | 510 km | £220 | £220 |
| Belfast | 3,778 | 0.42% | 0.47% | 528 km | £220 | £220 |
| Rome | 3,283 | 0.15% | 0.00% | 1,459 km | £220 | €250 |
| Barcelona | 2,984 | 0.64% | 0.13% | 1,186 km | £220 | €250 |
| Alicante | 2,940 | 0.61% | 0.00% | 1,514 km | £350 | €400 |
| Milan | 2,888 | 0.41% | 0.14% | 977 km | £220 | €250 |
| Tenerife | 2,876 | 0.38% | 0.35% | 2,997 km | £350 | €400 |
| Palma de Mallorca | 2,866 | 0.63% | 0.07% | 1,385 km | £220 | €250 |
| Budapest | 2,744 | 0.29% | 0.25% | 1,450 km | £220 | €250 |
| Málaga | 2,616 | 0.34% | 0.08% | 1,732 km | £350 | €400 |
| Madrid | 2,554 | 0.43% | 0.00% | 1,299 km | £220 | €250 |
| Bucharest | 2,533 | 0.24% | 0.94% | 2,066 km | £350 | €400 |
| Faro | 2,430 | 0.41% | 0.21% | 1,775 km | £350 | €400 |
| Berlin | 2,402 | 0.37% | 0.33% | 906 km | £220 | €250 |
| Lisbon | 2,329 | 0.47% | 0.38% | 1,629 km | £350 | €400 |
| Antalya | 2,316 | 0.56% | 0.13% | 2,911 km | £350 | UK/EU airline only |
| Copenhagen | 2,219 | 0.27% | 0.45% | 914 km | £220 | €250 |
| Porto | 2,129 | 0.19% | 0.28% | 1,363 km | £220 | €250 |
| Eindhoven | 2,124 | 0.23% | 0.42% | 357 km | £220 | €250 |
| Milan | 2,117 | 0.33% | 0.61% | 932 km | £220 | €250 |
| Vienna | 2,066 | 0.34% | 0.19% | 1,237 km | £220 | €250 |
| Kraków | 2,041 | 0.73% | 0.34% | 1,379 km | £220 | €250 |
| Cologne | 2,013 | 0.15% | 0.10% | 492 km | £220 | €250 |
| Cork | 2,007 | 0.85% | 0.00% | 599 km | £220 | €250 |
| Venice | 1,967 | 0.35% | 0.25% | 1,135 km | £220 | €250 |
| Pisa | 1,939 | 0.46% | 0.05% | 1,184 km | £220 | €250 |
| Sofia | 1,798 | 0.17% | 0.00% | 2,012 km | £350 | €400 |
| Prague | 1,797 | 0.39% | 0.22% | 1,000 km | £220 | €250 |
All routes from London Stansted: route list · UK delay statistics
Air traffic flow delays at Stansted (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, 101,522 flights arrived at STN; 1,402 of them were held back this way, 655 by more than 15 minutes – an average of 0.26 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 September 2025 – 2,300 minutes, mostly other; 6 July 2025 – 2,135 minutes, mostly weather; 16 February 2025 – 1,588 minutes, mostly aerodrome capacity.
2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 79,951 arrivals, 0.33 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (worse than 2025), mainly weather (70%) and equipment (ATC) (27%).
Check what happened at STN on your travel day →
What this means for a claim: ATFM delays come from weather (61% here), air traffic control capacity and staffing (10%) 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.
Typical delay causes at London Stansted Airport
- Short turnaround times: a delay early in the day carries over to every later flight of the same aircraft, so late-evening departures are most affected.
- Summer thunderstorms and air traffic flow restrictions in London airspace – extraordinary circumstances, although airlines sometimes cite them for delays that have other causes.
Airlines you are likely to fly with here
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Local information
- Ryanair handles compensation claims through its own online form. If it rejects your claim, the next step is an ADR body, a claims agency or the CAA.
- Keep your boarding pass and booking confirmation; screenshots of the delay notifications in the app are useful evidence.
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim compensation for a flight departing from London Stansted Airport?
Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from London Stansted 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 Stansted 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.