LHR to DEL flight delays
3,758 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · UK Civil Aviation Authority
56.47%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.52%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
29 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Virgin Atlantic arrived on time 40.9 points more often than Air India 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 January — 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.
This is a late route. Flights from London to New Delhi miss their scheduled arrival often enough that a tight connection at the far end is a connection at risk.
This route does worse than its own airport. LHR as a whole runs 20.5 points more punctual than these flights, which points at something specific to the route — the time of day it is scheduled, or the aircraft that feed it — rather than the airport.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, Virgin Atlantic arrived on time most often on LHR to DEL. Air India was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in April and worst in January.
Every airline on LHR to DEL
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air India | 1,759 | 35.81% | 2.05% | — | F |
| British Airways | 997 | 71.98% | 1.2% | — | C |
| Virgin Atlantic | 973 | 76.71% | 0.72% | — | C |
| Air Canada | 29 | 85.19% | 6.9% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DEL to LHR New Delhi back to London 61.63% on time FOther routes from London
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on LHR to DEL 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 →