Which Nordic nation experiences the most flight interruptions?
In 2024, airline operations across most Nordic countries saw a notable improvement compared to the challenges faced in the previous year. The region as a whole continued to outperform much of Europe in terms of non-disrupted departures.
Sweden, Estonia, Slovenia, and Slovakia were among the strong performers, with Sweden recording a disruption rate of 1.33%. Finland, however, experienced an increase in disrupted flights, primarily due to a December pilot strike and mass cancellations caused by GPS interference at Tartu Airport. As a result, Finland's disruption rate was 0.60%, making it the country with the fewest disruptions, albeit a reversal from its previous leading position in the region.
Norway recorded the highest number of total disrupted flights among the Nordic countries, with 9,454 flights affected, but it had the lowest disruption rate of 1.59%. This is in contrast to Iceland, which had the highest disruption rate among the Nordic countries, with 3.36% of flights disrupted, and 2,627 disruptions in total.
Denmark had 4,818 disrupted flights in 2024, and a disruption rate of 1.73%. The likelihood of encountering a disrupted flight varied by season, peaking in July at 2.4 percent and hitting its lowest point in September at 1 percent.
Flight disruptions in Nordic countries are largely driven by weather conditions, technical failures, air traffic control (ATC) challenges, and operational issues. Staff shortages were the most significant operational challenge for most airlines, as stated by Kaciusis.
Among the Nordic countries, Norway appears to have maintained notably good on-time flight performance in 2024, with Bergen Flesland Airport ranking ninth globally in on-time performance and overall airport experience in a survey spanning June 2024 to May 2025.
However, it's important to note that the available data does not highlight any Nordic country as having the highest number of flight disruptions in 2024. If more detailed data were available specifically on flight cancellations or delays by Nordic country for 2024, a more precise ranking could be established.
Meanwhile, the global and regional flight disruption reports emphasize problems in other areas, such as widespread global cancellations in June 2025 due to multiple factors, and specific major air traffic control issues in the UK causing disruption at London airports and some spillover to Edinburgh, but not in Nordic countries generally.
In conclusion, while Nordic countries have shown improvement in airline operations in 2024, challenges such as staff shortages and weather conditions continue to pose operational issues. A more detailed analysis of flight disruptions by Nordic country may provide a clearer picture of the region's performance in 2024.
Despite the notable improvement in airline operations across Nordic countries in 2024, sports were not directly impacted by the challenges faced during this period. Interestingly, the on-time flight performance of Bergen Flesland Airport in Norway ranked ninth globally in a survey for airport experience, indicating that sports or transportation disruptions did not significantly affect the airport's performance.
