Flights Cancelled Today: How to Check in Real Time
To find out whether there are flights cancelled today or aircraft running late, enter your flight number into FlightGuard’s flight cancellation risk checker: in seconds you get the status and a risk indicator built from real disruption factors. No account, free, and it works in your browser or the app.
This guide covers how to check right now, which airports are most congested at the moment, how to spot strike risk early, and what to do if a cancellation actually lands on you — including the compensation the law entitles you to.
Check now: from flight number to status
The fastest way to see whether your flight is at risk of being cancelled is to start from the flight number. Just:
- Enter the number (e.g. FR1234, BA590, U28543) into the flight cancellation risk checker.
- Pick the travel date.
- Read the risk indicator and the breakdown of the factors driving it.
An honest caveat: FlightGuard’s indicator does not predict that your specific flight will be cancelled. It flags higher-risk conditions by combining real data — air-traffic-control (ATC) congestion, weather, route history, carrier on-time performance and strikes. It is a risk-awareness tool, not a crystal ball.
How common are cancellations, really?
Let’s put the numbers in perspective. In our sample of 10,970 real flights tracked with actual outcomes (through 26 June 2026):
- Cancellation rate: 0.57% (62 cancelled of 10,970).
- Average departure delay: 8.2 minutes.
- Flights delayed more than 15 minutes: 16.6%.
In other words, the vast majority of flights operate. A cancellation is the exception — but when it happens, you want to know as early as possible.
Cancellations vary a lot by airline
Not every carrier cancels at the same rate. Here are the real numbers from our flight-history sample for major European airlines (n is the sample size):
| Airline | IATA | n flights | Cancelled | Avg delay | Delayed >15 min |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ryanair | FR | 3,109 | 0.35% | 7.9 min | 17.8% |
| British Airways | BA | 1,820 | 0.27% | 5.0 min | 12.6% |
| Lufthansa | LH | 1,593 | 0.94% | 8.2 min | 16.6% |
| Air France | AF | 1,240 | 0.32% | 10.8 min | 17.9% |
| KLM | KL | 911 | 0.77% | 9.0 min | 17.7% |
| easyJet | U2 | 440 | 0.45% | 10.8 min | 18.9% |
| ITA Airways | AZ | 263 | 0.00% | 11.9 min | 29.3% |
A few counter-intuitive readings. Ryanair (FR), in our sample of 3,109 flights, cancelled less (0.35%) than legacy carriers Lufthansa (0.94%) and KLM (0.77%) — though it ran slightly later than British Airways, which posted the lowest delays of the group (5.0 min average). ITA Airways (AZ), in a smaller sample of 263 flights, recorded no cancellations but the highest share of late departures: 29.3% of flights left more than 15 minutes behind schedule. Sample size matters — for carriers with only a few hundred flights, read the figures with caution.
The most congested airports right now
A cancellation rarely has a single cause. Often the deciding factor is air-traffic-control (ATC) congestion: when traffic volume exceeds controller capacity, EUROCONTROL imposes flow regulations that hold aircraft on the ground.
Based on the latest aggregated congestion data, the most pressured European airports are — in order — Rome Fiumicino (FCO), Lisbon (LIS), Athens (ATH), Zurich (ZRH), Brussels (BRU), Milan Malpensa (MXP), Bergamo Orio al Serio (BGY), Berlin (BER), Warsaw (WAW) and Catania (CTA).
If you are flying through one of these hubs — such as Rome Fiumicino, Milan Malpensa or Catania — on a busy day, the risk of knock-on delays is higher than usual. These values reflect a ranking of congestion, not an average delay per individual flight: they tell you where the network is most stretched, not how many minutes your specific flight will lose.
Strikes and disruption: spotting the risk
Strikes are among the most common causes of flights being cancelled at short notice, especially in parts of Europe. They can involve cabin crew, ground handlers or air-traffic controllers.
What to do when a strike is in the news:
- Check the official notice: the date, time windows and staff groups involved change the impact dramatically.
- Look for protected flights: in several countries certain time windows are protected by law even during a strike.
- Monitor your flight: set up an alert so you don’t have to check manually every hour.
FlightGuard’s risk indicator factors in monitoring of strikes, geopolitical tension and extraordinary events, so when a disruption is unfolding your flight is flagged with an elevated risk level.
My flight is cancelled: am I entitled to compensation?
If your flight is cancelled, in many cases you are entitled to compensation under Regulation (EC) No 261/2004. The amount depends on the distance:
| Flight distance | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Up to 1,500 km | €250 |
| Intra-EU over 1,500 km, and other flights 1,500–3,500 km | €400 |
| Over 3,500 km (between an EU and a non-EU airport) | €600 |
Examples: London–Rome (~1,430 km) falls in the €250 band; London–Madrid (~1,260 km) is also €250; Milan–New York (~6,400 km) sits in the €600 band.
The right is triggered by a cancellation with less than 14 days’ notice, denied boarding from overbooking, or an arrival delay of at least 3 hours — unless extraordinary circumstances apply, such as extreme weather, airspace closure, an air-traffic-control strike or political instability. Note: an airline’s own staff strike is generally not treated as extraordinary, so compensation still applies. For long delays over 3 hours, the amount may be reduced by 50% where rerouting limits the final arrival delay.
The regulation covers all departures from an EU airport on any airline, plus arrivals into the EU on an EU carrier. Claim deadlines vary by country — for example 6 years in the UK, 2 years in Italy, 5 years in Spain and 3 years in Germany. For the official text, see Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 on EUR-Lex. For a full walkthrough, read our guide to EU261 passenger rights.
What to do in the next few hours
If you have a flight soon and want to get ahead of it:
- Check the risk from the flight number with the flight delay predictor.
- Check the departure airport: if it’s among the most congested (FCO, MXP, BGY, CTA), build in extra time.
- Set up a free email alert: FlightGuard re-checks the risk periodically and notifies you if the picture changes significantly.
- Keep your evidence (boarding pass, airline communications): you’ll need it for any EU261 claim.
Conclusion
Knowing straight away whether there are flights cancelled today lets you react sooner — finding an alternative, warning whoever is waiting for you, or leaving with more buffer. FlightGuard gives you the flight status and a risk indicator built from real factors: not a guaranteed forecast, but an honest picture to help you decide.
If you want to understand which carriers cancel most before you book, read our deep dive on why Ryanair cancels flights.
Sources
Check your flight now and travel with fewer surprises.
