Transatlantic route record · UK CAA departure punctuality
MAN→MLB
Manchester to Melbourne
- Flights
- 121 both ways
- Carriers
- 1
- Distance
- 4,218 mi
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026
Over the twelve months to August 2026, 58.8% of departures from Manchester to Melbourne Orlando International left within 15 minutes of their planned time, from 80 flights the UK Civil Aviation Authority matched to a schedule. That is 18 points behind the 76.4% recorded across every UK departure to the United States, and it ranks 49th of the 50 UK-to-US routes with a usable record. Roughly one flight in two left at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and 0 of 80 scheduled departures, 0.0%, did not operate at all.
The route's 58.8% is essentially unchanged from the same twelve months a year earlier, when 58.3% 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
58.8%
Within 15 minutes of schedule, of 80 departures (CAA)
Avg delay
25 min
Across all departures, early counted as zero
Cancelled
0.00%
All UK-to-US departures: 2.16%
3+ hours late
0.00%
The UK261 compensation threshold
8.7% of departures left more than an hour late, and 0.00% left three hours or more behind schedule, almost no flights. 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 25.4 minutes, against 14.2 for all UK-to-US departures.
Carrier by carrier
Which airline leaves MAN for MLB on time
TUI Airways is the only carrier the DOT report shows on MAN to MLB, with 121 flights and an average of 272 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TUI Airwaysthin sample | 80 | 58.8% | 25 min | 0.00% | 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 MAN to MLB are distributed
- Early15+ min early0.0%
- On timeup to 15 min late58.8%
- 16–30 min12.5%
- 31–60 min20.0%
- 1–2 hours6.2%
- 2–3 hours2.5%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold0.0%
- Over 6 hours0.0%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
Across the year
When MAN to MLB runs late
The DOT's international report puts 24 flights on the pair in June 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 20256
- August 202518
- September 20250
- October 202517
- November 202512
- December 20250
- January 20260
- February 20260
- March 20266
- April 202618
- May 202620
- June 202624
The DOT's international report counts flights in both directions together: 121 between MAN and MLB from July 2025 to June 2026, roughly a weekly round trip, carrying 32,888 passengers. That makes it the 5th busiest of 5 US routes from Manchester and the busiest of 2 European routes into MLB.
The return leg
MLB to MAN: arrivals back into Manchester
Coming the other way, 57.1% of arrivals from Melbourne Orlando International into Manchester reached the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, across 77 flights. 0.00% of those arrivals were three hours or more late, the figure that decides a compensation claim on the return trip, and 0.0% were cancelled.
Arrived on time
57.1%
Within 15 minutes, of 77 arrivals
Early
6.5%
More than 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Cancelled
0.00%
3+ hours late
0.00%
Arrival delay, the compensation test
- Early15+ min early6.5%
- On timeup to 15 min late50.6%
- 16–30 min18.2%
- 31–60 min10.4%
- 1–2 hours10.4%
- 2–3 hours3.9%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold0.0%
- Over 6 hours0.0%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
The departure airport
How Manchester is running
EUROCONTROL's figures for Manchester as a whole, every airline and every destination: 63.6% of departures and 65.7% of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule from 1 January to 21 October 2026, with 96.2% of scheduled flights operated. The last seven days ran at 62.4% for departures, about a point worse than the year so far. Air traffic flow management delay attributed to the airport averaged 0.9 minutes per arriving flight this year, 0.4 over the last week.
| Window | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Schedules operated | ATFM delay / arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday (21 October 2026) | 76.7% | 81.9% | 95.1% | 0.0 min |
| Last 7 days | 62.4% | 68.4% | 96.8% | 0.4 min |
| Year to date | 63.6% | 65.7% | 96.2% | 0.9 min |
Every US route from Manchester, and its full punctuality record
The arrival airport
Landing at Melbourne Orlando International
Melbourne Orlando International is scored on this site from the DOT's domestic data: 84.0% of its 2,871 domestic departures arrived on time over the last twelve months, and 2.06% 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 MLB reaches a flight from MAN just as surely. The airport flies too little domestic traffic for a page of its own here.
Domestic on time
84.0%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late (DOT)
Avg delay
—
Delayed domestic flights only
Cancelled
2.06%
Domestic departures
2,871
Last twelve months
Your rights
UK261 on MAN to MLB
Every flight that departs Manchester falls under UK261, the retained version of the EU regulation, whichever airline flies it and wherever it lands. If it arrives at Melbourne Orlando 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 MLB is covered only when the carrier is UK or EU based. The sector is about 4,218 miles, 6,787 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 MAN to MLB
Booked blind, MAN to MLB 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 MLB: 9% of departures were an hour or more late, and immigration comes before the connecting flight.
Common questions
MAN to MLB questions
How often are MAN to MLB flights delayed?
Roughly one flight in two leaves Manchester at least 15 minutes behind schedule, 41.2% of the 80 departures the CAA matched between September 2025 and August 2026. 8.7% left more than an hour late and 0.00% three hours or more. A further 0.0% of scheduled departures were cancelled.
Which airlines fly MAN to MLB?
TUI Airways. TUI Airways accounted for 100% of the 121 flights the DOT counted on the pair.
Can I claim compensation for a delayed MAN to MLB 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 Manchester 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 0.00% of departures left three hours or more late over the last twelve months. The return from MLB is covered only on a UK or EU carrier.
How punctual is the return leg, MLB to MAN?
57.1% of arrivals from Melbourne Orlando International reached the gate at Manchester within 15 minutes of schedule across 77 flights, and 7% arrived more than 15 minutes early, as eastbound crossings often do. 0.0% were cancelled.
Related
Where to go next
- Manchester (MAN): every US route
- MAN to MCO, Orlando (MCO)1,208 flights
- MAN to JFK, New York (JFK)965 flights
- MAN to ATL, Atlanta (ATL)628 flights
- MAN to LAS, Las Vegas (LAS)162 flights
- LGW to MLB, from London113 flights
- Every Europe-to-US route and airport
The departure record is the CAA's, measured at Manchester; the arrival record for the return leg is also measured at Manchester. Nothing here is measured at MLB, 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.