TRAVEL experts have revealed why passengers should never book flights that take off after 3pm.
Airport chaos this summer left plenty of travellers with delayed or cancelled flights, as airlines struggled to provide services to match the demand for holidays.
Some of those affected could well be put off travelling altogether, out of fear that it may happen again.
However, there is a way for those people to halve their chances of getting a delayed or cancelled flight, and it's relatively simple.
By booking flights that take off earlier in the day, passengers give themselves a better chance of travelling without any problems.
Research produced by travel booking site Expedia revealed that later flights are often the most problematic.
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In fact, flights that depart after 3pm have the highest chance of being cancelled – a 50 per cent higher chance, on average, than those that depart earlier in the day.
There are even more precise calculations of when is best to fly.
In data supplied by FlightRadar24 which analysed flight cancellations this summer, the best time to fly is late morning between 11am and 12pm.
Only an average of 28 flights were grounded between that hour, or 0.75 per cent of flights scheduled – making it the best time to fly.
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Meanwhile 6pm was by far the worst, with a massive 138 cancelled flights between 6pm and 6.59pm.
That works out at an average of 3 per cent of all flights in that hour.
Expedia's research also revealed that the day travellers book their flights on can make a significant difference in the price of the tickets.
It turns out that those who book their flights on Sundays instead of Fridays tend to save, on average, around 20 per cent on domestic flights.
The same is true for international flights, where booking on a Sunday is on average 10 per cent cheaper than on a Friday.
Picking the departure day can also make a pretty big difference in ticket prices.
In general, travellers who started their domestic trips on a Saturday, versus the beginning of the week, saved 20 per cent on flights.
Meanwhile, for international flights, travellers who departed on a Friday saved 15 per cent on average.
Choosing the best time of year can also improve chances of both having a smooth flight and saving money.
Data shows that avoiding the peak travel periods can deliver more benefits than just cost-savings.
Historically, March is the most reliable month to travel, with the shortest average length of delays, compared to July with the highest (184 minutes on average).
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