LHR to PEK flight delays
418 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · UK Civil Aviation Authority
93.27%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.48%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
7 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. PEK to LHR arrives on time 16.1 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.
Flights from London to Beijing are among the most dependable in the record. A route this punctual is usually a short hop between airports with slots to spare.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from LHR overall run 14.5 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion LHR has, this route is largely escaping it.
Only Air China flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Air China arrived on time most often on LHR to PEK. Flights ran closest to schedule in May and worst in January.
Every airline on LHR to PEK
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 China | 418 | 93.27% | 0.48% | — | A |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
PEK to LHR Beijing back to London 77.16% on time COther routes from London
Common questions
Are flights from London to Beijing usually delayed?
93.27% of flights on the LHR to PEK route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 1 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from London to Beijing?
Only Air China appears in the published record on this route, with 418 flights and 93.27% arriving on time.
How often are LHR to PEK flights cancelled?
0.48% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 5 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly London to Beijing?
May, when 98.4% of flights arrived on time. The worst was January at 83.6%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on LHR to PEK during January 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 →