British tourists urged to avoid 20 EU airports over nightmare delays – full list

Brit travellers could face up to an hour's delay when travelling to these 20 European destinations. Stricter requirements at border gates when travelling to and from certain countries means travellers from outside of the European Union will be slowed down at security. This is to take biometric data under new Entry/Exit System (EES).

Two countries are the most likely to delay passengers travelling from the UK, while a third had the highest delay time out of all those polled. Research from AirAdvisor found that Greece and Spain are the destinations with the most delays while those travelling to Milan, Italy, will likely be delayed for the longest amount of time.

Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor explains: "Our research found that Greece is by some distance the most disruption-prone country for UK air passengers. Seven of the twenty most disrupted destinations for holidays from the UK to Europe are Greek islands, which might not come as a surprise to frequent travellers to these airports.

"They tend to be much smaller than hubs in major metropolitan centres and are incredibly popular with holidaymakers from across the world. During the summer period, they frequently operate at maximum capacity, so that means that when a mass disruption event occurs, there are implications for other services.

"Similarly, the sheer volume of flights between popular Spanish holiday hubs in Palma and Reus can result in full days of travel chaos when multiple services are delayed. “When delays start to build up at an airport, a domino effect can occur, causing flights across a single day being pushed back, leading to higher rates of delays, particularly at peak periods."

The top 20 is ranked by number of flights delayed for more than 60 minutes.

1. Milan Bergamo, Italy
2. Nice Cote d'Azur, France
3. Kefalonia, Greece
4. Pisa, Italy
5. Corfu, Greece
6. Palma de Mallorca, Spain
7. Reus, Spain
8. Ponta Delgada, Portugal
9. Olbia, Sardinia
10. Zadar, Croatia
11. Zakynthos, Greece
12. Naples, Italy
13. Chania, Greece
14. Paphos, Cyprus
15. Kos, Greece
16. Rhodes, Greece
17. Ibiza, Spain
18. Alicante, Spain
19. Mykonos, Greece
20. Porto, Portugal

Under the government’s UK261 regulation, if your flight is delayed for more than three hours, or if it's cancelled, you may be eligible for flight delay compensation or cancelled flight compensation. The total compensation amount depends on the delay's length and the flight's distance.