Picture it: you've checked in for your flight days in advance, sailed through security with hours to spare - only to discover that your journey abroad has been cancelled.

It's every traveller's worst nightmare.

However, for frequent fliers wanting to avoid getting caught out by cancelled flights, new analysis by aerospace tooling supplier Heamar has identified the worst culprits. 

Using data from the Civil Aviation Authority, the specialists looked into 25 of the UK's busiest airports to see how cancellation rates vary. 

The research covered all of 2025, as well as January to June 2026. 

Despite being recently crowned Britain's best airport, earning an 83 per cent customer score in Which?'s study released earlier this month, Exeter was named the hub with the highest flight cancellation rates. 

The airport saw 5.27 per cent of flights cancelled between January and June this year – equating to roughly one cancellation for every 19 flight movements.

Compared to Prestwick Airport, which saw just 0.18 per cent, your chances of having a flight out of Exeter cancelled are around 29 times higher.

The Devon-based hub serves 28 destinations across ten different countries, and sees over 500,000 passengers a year.

Southampton Airport followed with the second-highest cancellation rate of 4.43 per cent. 

Handling 1.8million travellers a year, the busy hub fared poorly compared to other airports on the list. 

London City Airport rounded off the top three hubs with the highest cancellation rates.

Located in East London, the airport saw 2.44 per cent of its flights axed during the time period. 

Inverness Airport ranked fourth with 2.24 per cent, followed by Heathrow Airport in fifth with 1.84 per cent. 

Birmingham Airport recorded a cancellation rate of 1.53 per cent, followed by Glasgow Airport (1.46 per cent) and Aberdeen Airport (1.45 per cent). 

Edinburgh ranked ninth with 1.15 per cent and Gatwick rounded off the top ten with 1.08 per cent recorded cancellations. 

Airlines may cancel or delay flights for a range of reasons, and disruption seems to be getting worse across the country.

In the first six months of 2026, there were 12,373 flights cancelled across the 25 airports analysed – almost 2,000 more than the same period before. 

The number of flight movements increased by just 0.8 per cent yet there was a whopping 18.6 per cent year-on-year jump in cancellations. 

A spokesman for Exeter Airport said: 'The vast majority of cancellations at Exeter relate to services to offshore islands, including the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands, where flights can be particularly vulnerable to adverse weather conditions.

'As a result, Exeter’s cancellation figures are disproportionately influenced by the nature of these routes, where factors such as fog, low cloud and strong winds can result in services being cancelled even when conditions at Exeter itself are good.

'These factors are outside Exeter Airport’s control and the figures should not therefore be seen as a reflection of the airport’s operational performance.'

A spokesman for Southampton Airport said: 'An airline’s decision to reluctantly cancel a flight can be due to several factors including weather conditions, air traffic congestion, delayed arrivals, or technical issues with aircraft. 

'We will continue to work with our airline partners and their handling agents to support them in their operations.' 

The Daily Mail approached London City Airport for comment. 

The research comes after Manchester T3 was declared the nation's worst airport by consumer champion Which? after considering factors such as 'Late cancellations', 'Check-in queues', 'Passport control queues' and 'Food and drink outlets'.

With a 52 per cent customer score, the aviation hub scored a paltry two stars in all categories surveyed, including 'Cleanliness' and 'Seating'.

The airport has been criticised particularly for its 'excessive' walking distances, as security and lounges are currently located in the former Terminal 1 area, which officially closed last November.

In a statement to Which? following the results of the survey, Manchester Airport told the consumer champion there is a 'project ongoing to remove and replace the old travelators' as part of a multi-million pound refurbishment scheme.