Pilot reveals how you can tell your flight is about to be delayed

A PILOT has revealed how you can tell if your flight is about to be delayed.

The helpful advice comes amid a flurry of flight cancellations and delays across the globe.

Airline pilot Patrick Smith explained checking not just the weather was important, especially when travelling through larger airports.

He told Travel + Leisure: "There are, however, lots of variables here. Some hubs are more prone to delays than others.

"A few inches of snow in Denver or Detroit aren't a big deal. Snow in Washington or Dallas, on the other hand, can cause problems."

The pilot added how passengers can get tech savvy and track their flight's progress online as well.

He explained: "Knowing the plane's inbound status is a huge clue to how its outbound status might be affected."

Websites like FlightRadar can let you follow flights in real-time.

This means you can see if it departed late as it means it will likely be late landing too.

If the aircraft you're going to be flying on is delayed getting to you, then chances are your departure time will face a significant delay too.

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This is because the aircraft will still need to be emptied, cleaned and loaded again.

On top of this, if an aircraft misses its initial takeoff slot, it may have to wait a while on the tarmac for the next available opportunity.

A pilot recently revealed how he often lies to passengers about being able to make up time if the flight is delayed.

Writing on Reddit, he said: "There is very little we can actually do to 'make-up time'.

"The longer the flight, the more we can do, but still, we're talking 5-10 minutes, not an hour."

If you want to avoid long flight delays, then you should avoid the peak summer holidays.

Here is how to claim compensation if your flight is delayed.