Winter sun put on ice for holidaymakers as December is named as the month with the longest flight delays
Those hoping for a little bit of winter sunshine might find themselves basking in the glow of the airport's Pret a Manger for longer than they'd bargained for, as research out today has found that December is the worst month for long flight delays.
A study by Which? discovered that 3.5m passenger flights were delayed by 15 minutes or longer last December, while 96,000 were left hanging around the airport for three hours or more.
If your flight is Gatwick bound, you might want to make yourself comfy – 23,862 travellers saw their flight delayed for three hours or more last December.
"Flight delays are infuriating for passengers and the last thing people want over the festive period is to be stuck in airport departure lounges, but if you’re flying in December this could well be the reality," said Richard Lloyd, Which? executive director.
"We want to see all airlines signing up to the ombudsman’s redress scheme to help ensure passengers get compensation when flights are delayed."
Perhaps those waiting for their gate number to be called can take solace in that they might not be much better off on road or rail. A survey by RAC Traffic Watch revealed that 7.1m car journeys will take place in Christmas and Boxing Day, while Network Rail has recently revealed a whole host of festive engineering works.