Transatlantic route record · UK CAA departure punctuality
LHR→CVG
London to Cincinnati
- Flights
- 490 both ways
- Carriers
- 1
- Distance
- 3,952 mi
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026
Over the twelve months to August 2026, 62.3% of departures from London Heathrow to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International left within 15 minutes of their planned time, from 253 flights the UK Civil Aviation Authority matched to a schedule. That is 14 points behind the 76.4% recorded across every UK departure to the United States, and it ranks 48th of the 50 UK-to-US routes with a usable record. Roughly one flight in three left at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and 4 of 257 scheduled departures, 1.6%, did not operate at all.
The route's 62.3% is an improvement of 2 points on the same months a year earlier, when 60.4% 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
62.3%
Within 15 minutes of schedule, of 253 departures (CAA)
Avg delay
19 min
Across all departures, early counted as zero
Cancelled
1.56%
All UK-to-US departures: 2.16%
3+ hours late
0.40%
The UK261 compensation threshold
6.3% of departures left more than an hour late, and 0.40% left three hours or more behind schedule, roughly one flight in 100. 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 19.3 minutes, against 14.2 for all UK-to-US departures.
Carrier by carrier
Which airline leaves LHR for CVG on time
British Airways is the only carrier the DOT report shows on LHR to CVG, with 490 flights and an average of 185 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| British Airwaysthin sample | 257 | 62.3% | 19 min | 1.56% | D |
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 LHR to CVG are distributed
- Early15+ min early0.0%
- On timeup to 15 min late62.3%
- 16–30 min19.4%
- 31–60 min10.5%
- 1–2 hours4.7%
- 2–3 hours1.2%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold0.4%
- Over 6 hours0.0%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
Across the year
When LHR to CVG runs late
The DOT's international report puts 53 flights on the pair in May 2026, the busiest month of the window, and 29 in January 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 202545
- August 202543
- September 202543
- October 202541
- November 202533
- December 202535
- January 202629
- February 202630
- March 202636
- April 202650
- May 202653
- June 202652
The DOT's international report counts flights in both directions together: 490 between LHR and CVG from July 2025 to June 2026, about five departures a week in each direction, carrying 90,867 passengers. That makes it the 30th busiest of 31 US routes from London Heathrow and the busiest of 2 European routes into CVG.
The return leg
CVG to LHR: arrivals back into London
Coming the other way, 75.8% of arrivals from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International into London Heathrow reached the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, across 251 flights. 21% 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. 1.20% of those arrivals were three hours or more late, the figure that decides a compensation claim on the return trip, and 1.9% were cancelled.
Arrived on time
75.8%
Within 15 minutes, of 251 arrivals
Early
20.7%
More than 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Cancelled
1.95%
3+ hours late
1.20%
Arrival delay, the compensation test
- Early15+ min early20.7%
- On timeup to 15 min late55.1%
- 16–30 min9.0%
- 31–60 min5.1%
- 1–2 hours6.2%
- 2–3 hours0.8%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold1.2%
- Over 6 hours0.0%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
The departure airport
How London Heathrow is running
EUROCONTROL's figures for London Heathrow as a whole, every airline and every destination: 80.3% of departures and 80.5% of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule from 1 January to 21 October 2026, with 96.7% of scheduled flights operated. The last seven days ran at 80.8% for departures, in line with the year. Air traffic flow management delay attributed to the airport averaged 1.2 minutes per arriving flight this year, 1.0 over the last week.
| Window | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Schedules operated | ATFM delay / arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday (21 October 2026) | 77.2% | 80.6% | 98.2% | 2.8 min |
| Last 7 days | 80.8% | 84.1% | 98.1% | 1.0 min |
| Year to date | 80.3% | 80.5% | 96.7% | 1.2 min |
Every US route from London Heathrow, and its full punctuality record
The arrival airport
Landing at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International is scored on this site from the DOT's domestic data: 79.2% of its 34,057 domestic departures arrived on time over the last twelve months, with delayed flights running a little over an hour late, and 1.98% 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 CVG reaches a flight from LHR 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
79.2%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late (DOT)
Avg delay
80 min
Delayed domestic flights only
Cancelled
1.98%
Domestic departures
34,057
Last twelve months
Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG) delay statistics, hour by hour and month by month
Your rights
UK261 on LHR to CVG
Every flight that departs London Heathrow falls under UK261, the retained version of the EU regulation, whichever airline flies it and wherever it lands. If it arrives at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky 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 CVG is covered only when the carrier is UK or EU based. The sector is about 3,952 miles, 6,359 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 LHR to CVG
Booked blind, LHR to CVG is a D route by the departure record, and there is no carrier choice to make. Leave at least two hours for any onward connection at CVG: 6% of departures were an hour or more late, and immigration comes before the connecting flight.
Common questions
LHR to CVG questions
How often are LHR to CVG flights delayed?
Roughly one flight in three leaves London Heathrow at least 15 minutes behind schedule, 37.7% of the 253 departures the CAA matched between September 2025 and August 2026. 6.3% left more than an hour late and 0.40% three hours or more. A further 1.6% of scheduled departures were cancelled.
Which airlines fly LHR to CVG?
British Airways. British Airways accounted for 100% of the 490 flights the DOT counted on the pair.
Can I claim compensation for a delayed LHR to CVG 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 London Heathrow 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 0.40% of departures left three hours or more late over the last twelve months. The return from CVG is covered only on a UK or EU carrier.
How punctual is the return leg, CVG to LHR?
75.8% of arrivals from Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International reached the gate at London Heathrow within 15 minutes of schedule across 251 flights, and 21% arrived more than 15 minutes early, as eastbound crossings often do. 1.9% were cancelled.
Related
Where to go next
- London Heathrow (LHR): every US route
- Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International (CVG) delay statistics
- LHR to JFK, New York (JFK)14,572 flights
- LHR to EWR, Newark (EWR)6,322 flights
- LHR to LAX, Los Angeles (LAX)5,981 flights
- LHR to ORD, Chicago (ORD)5,762 flights
- CDG to CVG, from Paris458 flights
- Every Europe-to-US route and airport
The departure record is the CAA's, measured at London Heathrow; the arrival record for the return leg is also measured at London Heathrow. Nothing here is measured at CVG, 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.