Flight attendant reveals the best time to fly to avoid delays

As the summer holidays are well underway, many of us will be jetting off abroad to relax - but before then some may encounter stress due to frustrating delays on their travels.

Given that 45.6 million holiday trips were made by UK residents last year according to the ONS, there's no doubt some of us have had this less-than-ideal experience.

But there are ways to increase your chances of being delayed at the airport, with experts recommending to book an early flight.

Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter

Lisa Kulpa, a flight attendant explained some of the reasons to The Points Guy why the first flight of the day is the best one to get.

"First, you have the least chance of flight delays on the first departure of the day," she said.

"The plane was brought in last night, so it will be there waiting for you. This means you won't have to wait for the plane to arrive from another destination."

Flying early is the best way to avoid delays at the airportiStockphoto by Getty Images

It also means if your early flight is delayed or cancelled, you have more hours in the day to figure out an alternative flight or travel route too.

While she noted how flights later on in the day have a "greater chance of delays due to weather, maintenance and delays getting in and out of gates."

Another point Kulpa makes is that as the first flight, the plane will have been "thoroughly cleaned overnight."

Booking an early flight could also save passengers money, the cheapest international flights departing from the U.S. take off between 4 a.m. and 9 a.m., with early morning flights being, on average, 13 per cent cheaper than flights departing in the early afternoon, according to data compiled by Kayak for Travel + Leisure in 2023.

So while waking up early doesn't sound ideal, it's the best time to book a flight.

Elsewhere, this is the airline with the worst flight delays, a woman was left baffled by plane seats directly facing other passengers, and a plane full of singing Taylor Swift fans sparks debate.

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.