Long-suffering airline passengers desperate to avoid travel setbacks are in luck thanks to a study that shows which Australian airports have the highest number of delayed and cancelled flights.
With an average of 44 flights being cancelled every day it’s good to know where to avoid.
Fortunately, there’s a list.
Data analysed by finder.com.au has found that Sunshine Coast airport has placed number one of the worst airport for delays in Australia
Comparison site finder.com.au, analysed data from the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) that observed the performance of domestic airports in Australia over the span of 12 months.
BITRE monitors the punctuality and reliability of major domestic airlines operating between Australian airports.
The statistics were collected in 2017 and lay out the top ten airports that were most likely to have delayed or cancelled flights.
The research found that Sunshine Coast airport was the worst hub with almost one third of their domestic flights were delayed last year.
Sitting in second place – but first among capital cities – Hobart wasn’t far behind with almost 27 per cent of the 17,994 flights being delayed.
Only three capital cities made the list, with Hobart being the worst capital city for delays, followed by Sydney and Melbourne
Third and fourth place went to Gold Coast and Launceston, both sitting at around 24 per cent for delayed flights.
Sydney airport sat in fifth position, at 20 per cent.
One quarter of the 21,600 flights cancelled across Australia came from Sydney alone, with an average of 113 flights being delayed per day.
The list above that shows the Sunshine Coast airport that had one third of all their flights delayed in 2017
The third and final capital city that made the list was Melbourne, sitting in 9th position.
Bessie Hassan, Head of PR Australia at finder.com.au, said that many factors can lead to a delay and finds it interesting that smaller, rurual airports took up most of the list.
‘Flight delays are never ideal, and even for a domestic trip a significant delay can put an inconvenienced traveller hundreds of dollars out of pocket,’ she said.
The commercial carrier that has seen the highest percentage of cancellations in seven years is QuantasLink
Of the 21,600 flights cancelled across the country, one quarter came from Sydney alone
The capital city that saw the least amount of delays in 2017 was Perth with only 13 per cent.
Port Lincoln airport was at the bottom of the list, with only 8 per cent of their flights leaving late throughout the year.
The commercial carrier that has seen the highest percentage of cancellations since 2010 was QuantasLink, at almost two and a half per cent, followed by Tigerair and Virgin Australia Regional Airlines.
The research also noted that the worst month for domestic flight cancellation in Australia was June, followed by July.