Revealed: Worst airports in the UK for flight delays in 2022

Birmingham airport was the worst in the UK for flight delays for a second year in a row, an investigation has found.

Departures from the West Midlands airport were half an hour behind schedule on average in 2022, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

That was more than twice as long as the previous year, when it was also ranked last for punctuality.

The airport said it is ‘running smoothly’ this year.

Doncaster Sheffield which closed in November - and Manchester airports had the joint second poorest punctuality records in 2022, with an average delay of 29 minutes.

They were followed by Luton (28 minutes), Gatwick (27) and Bristol (26) airports.

South coast pair Southampton and Bournemouth both had an average delay of 19 minutes.

East Midlands airport had the best performance, with an average delay of just 13 minutes.

The average across all 26 airports was 23 minutes.

The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures. Cancelled flights were not included.

If the cause of disruption is under an airline's control, passengers are due compensation of up to £520 depending on the length of the delay and the distance of the flight.

*Two-fifths (42%) of adults planning holidays this year will be taking a trip with their parents, as rising living costs squeeze families’ travel budgets.

Among holidaymakers aged 35 to 44, many of whom will have their own children living at home, 58% are planning breaks with their parents.

And one in 14 (7%) is planning a trip with their grandparents.

More than a quarter (27%) of parents who are going away with their grown-up children said they are paying some or all of their offspring’s travel expenses.

The survey. commissioned by Starling Bank, also indicates that families plan to spend an average of £2,671 on holidays this year, with Spain, France and Italy being popular as proposed destinations.

Families in Yorkshire and the Humber are most likely to be staying in the UK for their getaway (58%) and plan to spend an average of £2,148 on their trip.

And households based in Wales will be spending the least on their holidays, with a proposed average spend of £1,865.