Transatlantic route record · UK CAA departure punctuality
EDI→PHL
Edinburgh to Philadelphia
- Flights
- 379 both ways
- Carriers
- 1
- Distance
- 3,339 mi
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026
Over the twelve months to August 2026, 84.7% of departures from Edinburgh to Philadelphia International left within 15 minutes of their planned time, from 187 flights the UK Civil Aviation Authority matched to a schedule. That is 8 points ahead of the 76.4% recorded across every UK departure to the United States, and it ranks 4th of the 50 UK-to-US routes with a usable record. About one flight in seven left at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and 6 of 193 scheduled departures, 3.1%, did not operate at all.
The route's 84.7% is an improvement of 6 points on the same months a year earlier, when 79.0% left on time. Across every departure from the 25 UK airports the CAA reports, to any destination, 72.4% left within 15 minutes in the same period; transatlantic departures run slightly better than the UK average, partly because wide-body long-haul flights are scheduled with more slack than short-haul rotations. A single carrier accounts for almost every departure, so the route figure and the airline figure are the same number.
Key figures
Left on time
84.7%
Within 15 minutes of schedule, of 187 departures (CAA)
Avg delay
11 min
Across all departures, early counted as zero
Cancelled
3.11%
All UK-to-US departures: 2.16%
3+ hours late
1.60%
The UK261 compensation threshold
4.1% of departures left more than an hour late, and 1.60% left three hours or more behind schedule, roughly one flight in 50. Three hours at arrival is the threshold at which UK261 compensation becomes payable, £520 a passenger on a sector of this length; the CAA measures the departure, so a flight in that band left the gate three hours late, which is not quite the same test but rarely ends differently after seven hours over the Atlantic. The average delay across every matched departure, early ones counted as zero, was 11.1 minutes, against 14.2 for all UK-to-US departures.
Carrier by carrier
Which airline leaves EDI for PHL on time
American Airlines is the only carrier the DOT report shows on EDI to PHL, with 379 flights and an average of 219 passengers aboard each. A single-carrier route gives a delayed passenger no same-day alternative on the same ticket, which is worth knowing before booking a tight onward connection.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlinesthin sample | 193 | 84.7% | 11 min | 3.11% | B− |
Flights are scheduled departures in the CAA file, operated plus cancelled; on time is within 15 minutes of the planned off-block time. The DOT count below includes the return direction and may differ.
How late is late
How delays on EDI to PHL are distributed
- Early15+ min early3.2%
- On timeup to 15 min late81.5%
- 16–30 min6.1%
- 31–60 min2.1%
- 1–2 hours2.0%
- 2–3 hours0.5%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold1.1%
- Over 6 hours0.5%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
Across the year
When EDI to PHL runs late
The DOT's international report puts 62 flights on the pair in May 2026, the busiest month of the window, and 0 in February 2026, the thinnest. A summer-to-winter swing of that size means the winter schedule is a different operation: fewer frequencies, so a cancellation leaves a longer wait for the next seat.
Flights per month, both directions
- July 202560
- August 202561
- September 202560
- October 20259
- November 20250
- December 20250
- January 20260
- February 20260
- March 20267
- April 202660
- May 202662
- June 202660
The DOT's international report counts flights in both directions together: 379 between EDI and PHL from July 2025 to June 2026, about four departures a week in each direction, carrying 83,113 passengers. That makes it the 6th busiest of 8 US routes from Edinburgh and the 13th busiest of 17 European routes into PHL.
The return leg
PHL to EDI: arrivals back into Edinburgh
Coming the other way, 87.5% of arrivals from Philadelphia International into Edinburgh reached the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, across 190 flights. 57% arrived more than 15 minutes early, which is normal for an eastbound crossing with the jet stream behind it and a schedule padded for the days it is not. 0.51% of those arrivals were three hours or more late, the figure that decides a compensation claim on the return trip, and 0.5% were cancelled.
Arrived on time
87.5%
Within 15 minutes, of 190 arrivals
Early
56.6%
More than 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Cancelled
0.52%
3+ hours late
0.51%
Arrival delay, the compensation test
- Early15+ min early56.6%
- On timeup to 15 min late30.9%
- 16–30 min4.2%
- 31–60 min5.2%
- 1–2 hours1.6%
- 2–3 hours0.5%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold0.0%
- Over 6 hours0.5%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
The departure airport
How Edinburgh is running
EUROCONTROL's figures for Edinburgh as a whole, every airline and every destination: 71.4% of departures and 74.0% of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule from 1 January to 21 October 2026, with 97.0% of scheduled flights operated. The last seven days ran at 73.0% for departures, 2 points better than the year so far. Air traffic flow management delay attributed to the airport averaged 0.0 minutes per arriving flight this year, 0.0 over the last week.
| Window | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Schedules operated | ATFM delay / arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday (21 October 2026) | 81.7% | 82.1% | 96.5% | 0.0 min |
| Last 7 days | 73.0% | 77.0% | 96.8% | 0.0 min |
| Year to date | 71.4% | 74.0% | 97.0% | 0.0 min |
Every US route from Edinburgh, and its full punctuality record
The arrival airport
Landing at Philadelphia International
Philadelphia International is scored on this site from the DOT's domestic data: 75.2% of its 101,709 domestic departures arrived on time over the last twelve months, with delayed flights running a little over an hour late, and 3.09% were cancelled. Those are domestic flights, not this route, but an arriving transatlantic flight shares the same runways, the same weather and the same ground delay programmes, so a bad day at PHL reaches a flight from EDI just as surely. The airport's own page has the hour-by-hour and month-by-month detail, and its live FAA status appears above when the FAA has something to say.
Domestic on time
75.2%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late (DOT)
Avg delay
82 min
Delayed domestic flights only
Cancelled
3.09%
Domestic departures
101,709
Last twelve months
Philadelphia International (PHL) delay statistics, hour by hour and month by month
Your rights
UK261 on EDI to PHL
Every flight that departs Edinburgh falls under UK261, the retained version of the EU regulation, whichever airline flies it and wherever it lands. If it arrives at Philadelphia International three hours or more late, or is cancelled with under 14 days' notice, and the cause was within the airline's control, each passenger is owed £520 (£260 if the airline got you there under four hours late), on top of rebooking and care. Weather, air traffic control restrictions and strikes outside the airline are the usual exemptions. The return flight from PHL is covered only when the carrier is UK or EU based. The sector is about 3,339 miles, 5,372 km, which puts it in the top distance band.
Delayed three hours or more? Check a claim with Compensair →
What to do with this
Booking EDI to PHL
Booked blind, EDI to PHL is a B− route by the departure record, and there is no carrier choice to make. Leave at least two hours for any onward connection at PHL: 4% of departures were an hour or more late, and immigration comes before the connecting flight.
Common questions
EDI to PHL questions
How often are EDI to PHL flights delayed?
About one flight in seven leaves Edinburgh at least 15 minutes behind schedule, 15.3% of the 187 departures the CAA matched between September 2025 and August 2026. 4.1% left more than an hour late and 1.60% three hours or more. A further 3.1% of scheduled departures were cancelled.
Which airlines fly EDI to PHL?
American Airlines. American Airlines accounted for 100% of the 379 flights the DOT counted on the pair.
Can I claim compensation for a delayed EDI to PHL flight?
Yes, if the flight arrived three hours or more late or was cancelled at short notice for a reason within the airline's control: departures from Edinburgh are covered by UK261 whichever airline operates them. The fixed amount for a sector of this length is £520 a passenger, £260 if the airline got you there under four hours late. On this route 1.60% of departures left three hours or more late over the last twelve months. The return from PHL is covered only on a UK or EU carrier.
How punctual is the return leg, PHL to EDI?
87.5% of arrivals from Philadelphia International reached the gate at Edinburgh within 15 minutes of schedule across 190 flights, and 57% arrived more than 15 minutes early, as eastbound crossings often do. 0.5% were cancelled.
Related
Where to go next
- Edinburgh (EDI): every US route
- Philadelphia International (PHL) delay statistics
- EDI to JFK, New York (JFK)1,104 flights
- EDI to EWR, Newark (EWR)886 flights
- EDI to BOS, Boston (BOS)723 flights
- EDI to IAD, Washington (IAD)541 flights
- LHR to PHL, from London1,866 flights
- DUB to PHL, from Dublin1,316 flights
- FCO to PHL, from Rome752 flights
- MAD to PHL, from Madrid722 flights
- Every Europe-to-US route and airport
The departure record is the CAA's, measured at Edinburgh; the arrival record for the return leg is also measured at Edinburgh. Nothing here is measured at PHL, where the DOT keeps no record of international flights.
Sources: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, International Report (flights and passengers by carrier and airport pair), July 2025 to June 2026; UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, September 2025 to August 2026; EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Portal, airport punctuality and ATFM delay to 21 October 2026. Rebuilt 22 October 2026; the EUROCONTROL figures refresh with each weekly build, the others when their publisher releases a month. How these sources differ.