Airports’ punctuality revealed

THE worst UK airports for flight punctuality have been revealed, with the longest delays at London Luton.

Departures from the Bedfordshire airport were an average of 20 minutes late in 2017, according to Press Association analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

Cardiff Airport ranked mid-table, coming 12th out of the 25 airports listed with an average delay of 15.7 minutes – nearly two minutes better than its close rival Bristol Airport.

After London Luton, the next worst performers were London Gatwick, Jersey, Durham Tees Valley and Birmingham.

The ranking takes into account every scheduled and charter flight from 25 of the UK’s major airports. Cancelled flights are not included.

The average delay across all the featured airports was 15 minutes.

London Heathrow, the UK’s busiest airport, was found to have the best performance, with aircraft typically taking off 11 minutes late.

Leeds Bradford had the second best record, followed by Belfast City and London City.

A spokeswoman for London Luton said: “We regret any delay our passengers experience.”

She added that punctuality was influenced by “many factors” outside its control such as air traffic control strikes, late arriving aircraft, bad weather and congested airspace.

Punctuality data enables passengers to “make informed choices about which airports they fly from”, a CAA spokesman said.

“The aviation industry should constantly strive to improve punctuality to enhance the passenger experience,” he added.

A spokesman for the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said “outdated” airspace infrastructure limits the efficiency of flights.