CWL to ALC flight delays
555 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · UK Civil Aviation Authority
74.77%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
14 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. TUI Airways arrived on time 28.2 points more often than Ryanair over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The season swings this route hard. In February it ran 32.1 points more punctual than in July — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The two directions do not behave alike. ALC to CWL arrives on time 6.8 points less often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
This is a thin route — 555 flights across the whole period. On a route this infrequent a cancellation is far more costly than the rate suggests, because the next departure may not be the same day.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, TUI Airways arrived on time most often on CWL to ALC. Ryanair was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in November and worst in July.
Every airline on CWL to ALC
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | 208 | 61.06% | 0% | — | D |
| Vueling | 207 | 78.74% | 0% | — | B |
| TUI Airways | 140 | 89.29% | 0% | — | A |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
ALC to CWL Alicante back to Cardiff 67.99% on time DOther routes from Cardiff
Common questions
Are flights from Cardiff to Alicante usually delayed?
74.77% of flights on the CWL to ALC route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 3 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Cardiff to Alicante?
TUI Airways, at 89.29% on time across 140 flights. The least punctual on the route was Ryanair at 61.06%.
How often are CWL to ALC flights cancelled?
0% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 1 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Cardiff to Alicante?
February, when 95% of flights arrived on time. The worst was July at 62.9%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on CWL to ALC during March 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →