Approximately 25.8% of flights in Spain fail to arrive on time, as reported by Eurocontrol, the European air navigation organisation. The causes are diverse, including issues related to the airlines such as strikes, scheduling conflicts, and technical problems, as well as unpredictable elements like adverse weather conditions leading to significant delays.
In terms of punctuality across Europe, Spain ranks eighth. Notably, three Spanish airports stand out for their timeliness in 2023: Tenerife Norte ranks fourth in Europe, followed by Bilbao at sixth and Seville at eleventh, according to Reclamio, a company specializing in handling air passenger complaints. In fact, Reclamio notes that over 40% of the grievances they processed in 2023 were related to flight delays.
Eurocontrol’s current data highlights Tenerife Norte’s exceptional punctuality rate of 81.3%, making it the fourth most punctual airport in Europe for 2023. Bilbao follows closely with an 80.7% punctuality rate, and Seville maintains a commendable rate of 78.6%.
Interestingly, there’s a correlation between punctuality and the number of complaints received. Tenerife Norte, Bilbao, and Seville, known for their high punctuality, have correspondingly low complaint rates at 2.2%, 3.2%, and 2.1% respectively. This trend suggests that timely flights significantly reduce passenger dissatisfaction.
Conversely, Spain’s major airports, Madrid-Barajas and Barcelona-El Prat, lag in punctuality. Madrid-Barajas has a punctuality rate of 78.3%, placing it 13th in Europe, while Barcelona-El Prat is at 74.6%, ranking 29th. These lower rates are reflected in the higher volume of complaints received, with Madrid-Barajas accounting for 35.5% and Barcelona-El Prat for 20.1% of all complaints registered by Reclamio.com.
