New analysis of flight data by AirAdvisor’s aviation intelligence platform covering travel between the UK and Europe’s most popular destinations, has found that flights between London’s key hubs and Mallorca and Ibiza, are most likely to be cancelled during the summer months.

In addition to Balearic hotspots, flights from Britain to Portuguese capital, Lisbon and Algarve city, Faro, record high levels of cancellations. The research assessed routes where a minimum of 100 flights per month are scheduled in the months of June, July and August, between a UK airport and its European counterpart.

Between 1 June and 31 August 2025, six of the 105 flights departing from London Luton to Ibiza were cancelled, giving the route the highest cancellation rate in the analysis, at 5.56 per cent. Other London to Ibiza services featured in the top 10 routes where you are most likely to be grounded, including Heathrow to Ibiza at 1.38 per cent (fourth).

In the same period, 14 of the 875 flights (1.60 per cent) from London Heathrow to Palma were axed, while 1.31 and 1.30 per cent of services from Gatwick and Luton, respectively, fell foul to cancellations. During the peak summer months, millions of passengers travel between the UK and Palma, only Dublin, Amsterdam, Alicante and Malaga record similar levels of traffic to and from the UK.

Four of the top 10 routes from the UK with the highest cancellation rates involve the Mallorcan hub, which isn’t a coincidence. The airport is one of the busiest in Europe, running at maximum capacity during the summer months.

When airports are stretched to this degree, a flight being delayed and missing its departure slot can cause other services from the same airport to depart later than planned or be cancelled altogether. So, that’s an issue with hubs like Palma, and equally, Ibiza, face in the summer, with quite so many services arriving at the airports, from across Europe.

Data from AirAdvisor’s flight intelligence platform covering June and July 2026 suggests a similar theme is emerging between in terms of services between the UK and the Balearics. So far this summer, 36 of the 1050 flights departing from Gatwick and Heathrow to Palma de Mallorca have been cancelled, around 3.44 per cent, which could suggest a worsening picture compared to 2025.

Similarly, in June and July this year, around 3.05 per cent (17) of flights departing from Gatwick and Heathrow for Ibiza, were scrapped. The only route with a worse cancellation rate so far this summer is London Gatwick to Catania, where 6.7 per cent of scheduled services have been axed.

Routes between UK and European airports with more than 100 scheduled flights per month, with the highest cancellation rates in summer 2025. Source – AirAdvisor

Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor explains: “Cancellation risk on UK routes to Europe is not spread evenly, and this summer the Balearics are carrying a bigger share of it than anywhere else. That’s worth understanding before you travel, because a cancellation is not just a long wait at the gate. You lose your slot. Same-day options dry up quickly. And from that point on, the airline decides what happens next, not you.

“Under UK261, if you’re told your flight is cancelled less than 14 days before departure, you may be entitled to between £220 and £520 in compensation, depending on how far you were flying. You also have the right to be rebooked on the next available flight, or to choose a later date that works for you.

“If the airline offers you a voucher, don’t accept it before checking what you’re owed in cash. Vouchers come with conditions; they expire and taking one can close off your right to claim.” airadvisor.com/en/cancelled-flight-compensation