The top 12 Aviation Highs and Lows for 2014

What an exciting year 2014 has turned out to be for us in the aviation world, the Royal Courts of Justice stood up for passenger rights and even Ryanair decided to become likeable! So as 2014 draws to a close flight data analyst Paul Vaneker from Passenger Rights expert, EUclaim gives us 12 notable aviation highs and lows for the year:

1. February 2014 saw the highest number of flight cancellations in the UK when the country experienced a spell of extreme bad weather with a succession of major storms. Apparently it was the stormiest period of weather the UK has experienced for at least 20 years.
2. Better news for the summer of 2014 where there were 4.5% less incidents (cancellations or delays over three hours 180 min) compared to the same period in 2013
3. There have been three airport evacuations due to possible security issues such as unattended suitcases.  One of the incidents was at London Luton the other two at Edinburgh
4. Monarch will make the move from Airbus to Boeing aircrafts.  In spite of the news that Airbus has hit a milestone in customer demand for its airliners, racking up an order backlog of more than 6,000 for the first time. But it looks like in this instance Boeing has the upper hand.
5. On the 11th June the Royal Courts of Justice made a final decision on Huzar v Jet2.com, the landmark aviation case that had the potential to rock the rights of the UK’s airline passengers. On average, 30% of all delays and cancellations are caused by a technical defect. The decision made by the court has meant that airlines can no longer hide behind technical defects stating that they are extraordinary circumstances and therefore a valid reason for an airline not to pay compensation under Article 5(3) of Regulation EC 261/2004.
6. Sadly, June was the worst month for flight delays in UK mainly due to the air traffic controllers’ strike in France. Air traffic management firm Eurocontrol predicted there would be 14,000 hours of delays during the six-day strike.
7. And the worst day for delays was the 24th June with 574 incidents again due to the air traffic controllers’ strike in France.
8. Well done to Thomas Cook Airlines who have improved the most in 2014 with an impressive 40% reduction in delays
9. The 19th October was an almost flight delay free day with only 15 incidents
10. The 6th November holds the record for the longest delay of an UK airline when         MT 816 Barbados – Manchester was held up for incredible 43 hours and 58 minutes
11. We are singing the praises of Grenoble in France and awarding it The Best Alps Skiing Destination during the last winter season as it had the lowest risk (2.14%) of flight delay. Sadly, the Worst Alps Skiing Destination is presented to Salzburg, Austria with the highest chance (4.46%) of flight delay for UK skiers.
12. The good news is that 60% of all UK passengers who face a delay or cancellation are entitled to compensation