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Southampton Airport (SOU): flight delays and compensation

Southampton Airport. A UK airport: flights departing from here are covered by UK261, and flights to Southampton 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 Southampton Airport is covered by UK261 (£220/£350/£520); flights to Southampton 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 Southampton (SOU) today

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About the airport

Southampton handled 15,713 commercial flights in 2025 according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the 19th-highest number among the 25 UK airports the CAA reports on. The busiest airlines here were Loganair, Aer Lingus, Blue Islands; the busiest destinations Edinburgh, Guernsey, Jersey.

Every flight departing from Southampton 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 Southampton? (2025)

Flights operated
15,713

2025, at UK airports

On time (≤ 15 min late)
74.6%

close to the UK average (72.7%)

3 hours or more late
0.92%

1 in 109 flights · worse than the UK average

Cancelled
3.29%

534 flights · worse than the UK average

Average delay
15.6 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 Southampton

AirlineFlightsOn time3 h+ lateCancelledAvg delay
Loganair3,96176.4%0.37%1.71%14 min
Aer Lingus3,33477.4%0.62%2.54%12 min
Blue Islands2,86566.4%1.31%5.94%22 min
Aurigny2,07177.9%2.42%5.39%18 min
easyJet1,89577.5%1.05%1.66%14 min
KLM1,38272.2%0.14%2.47%14 min
Isles Of Scilly Skybus11172.1%0.00%0.00%18 min

Top destinations from Southampton – and what a delay is worth

The 14 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 SOUReturn
Edinburgh2,3040.21%1.41%572 km£220£220
Guernsey1,9871.44%4.93%–––
Jersey1,9550.88%4.82%–––
Dublin1,6680.52%2.74%433 km£220€250
Belfast1,6660.71%2.34%508 km£220£220
Amsterdam1,6160.25%2.59%448 km£220€250
Alderney1,3363.31%7.16%–––
Newcastle1,2920.46%1.30%455 km£220£220
Glasgow6400.62%0.47%584 km£220£220
Belfast3361.78%0.59%526 km£220£220
Alicante2122.35%1.85%1,410 km£220€250
Paris1540.00%1.28%364 km£220€250
Palma de Mallorca1520.00%7.32%1,307 km£220€250
Geneva1370.73%0.00%758 km£220€250

All routes from Southampton: route list · UK delay statistics

Air traffic flow delays at Southampton (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, 10,004 flights arrived at SOU; 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)

    1. J
    2. F
    3. M
    4. A
    5. M
    6. J
    7. J
    8. A
    9. S
    10. O
    11. N
    12. D

    2026 so far (to 30 September 2026): 7,747 arrivals, 0.00 minutes of ATFM delay per arrival (better than 2025).

    Check what happened at SOU 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 Southampton in numbers

    • In 2025, 74.6% of flights at Southampton were on time or less than 15 minutes late (UK average 72.7%).
    • 0.92% of flights – about 1 in 109 – were 3 hours or more late, the threshold for compensation if the airline was responsible.
    • 3.29% of planned flights were cancelled (534 flights; UK average 1.04%).
    • The average delay was 15.6 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.

    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?
    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

    Rather skip the questions? Start a claim with AirHelp straight away

    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 Southampton Airport?

    Yes. Since Brexit the United Kingdom applies its own rule with the same content (UK261): any flight departing from Southampton 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 Southampton 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. EUROCONTROL – airport arrival ATFM delays (open performance data) – EUROCONTROL
    3. UK flight punctuality statistics 2025 – UK Civil Aviation Authority
    4. 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.