13,000 British f lights held up by 3hrs last year

THE shambles endured by air passengers in Britain has been laid bare – by a study which revealed that around 1.3 million suffered severe delays in just 12 months.

More than 13,000 flights to or from UK airports were held up by at least three hours in the year to June, consumer group Which? said.

The shocking figure is equivalent to nearly 3,500 passengers facing upheaval each day.

Norwegian, Thomas Cook and TUI were the airlines with the highest percentage of severe long-haul delays – at 2.4, 1.8 and 1.6 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile Icelandair, Aurigny and TUI were responsible for the highest proportion of severely delayed short-haul flights – at 1.7, 1.6 and 1.4 per cent.

The figures are based on Which? analysis of Civil Aviation Authority punctuality data and cover airlines with at least 1,825 UK flights per year.

Arrivals to the UK from non-European Union-based carriers were excluded. Under EU regulations, passengers are entitled to compensation if they are delayed by more than three hours when flying from the UK or with an EU airline to an EU airport.

Passengers can claim payouts worth between £220 and £360 for short-haul flights, and up to £535 for longer flights, depending on the length of delay.

Airlines are only exempt from paying compensation if they can prove the delay or cancellation was caused by ‘extraordinary circumstances’ such as extreme weather or airport strikes. Which? managing director of home products and services Alex Neill said: ‘Severe delays can be a complete nightmare and totally wreck a long-awaited trip abroad, especially if it means you’re stuck in an airport terminal for hours on end.

‘Passengers are often entitled to compensation when airlines get it wrong.

‘It is vital that automatic compensation is introduced across the industry so that people no longer have to jump through hoops to get what they are owed.’ A spokesman for industry body Airlines UK responded: ‘Long delays affect only a minority of overall journeys and are often due to factors outside of an airline’s control.

‘When things do go wrong, compensation can easily be claimed directly from an airline when due...’

Further research by Which? last month revealed that 61 per cent of flight routes are advertised as taking longer than they did in 2009. Despite improvements in aircraft technology, carriers are sometimes adding 20 minutes to flight arrival times to stick to punctuality targets, it was claimed.

But airlines denied schedules had been changed to avoid paying compensation for delays, and blamed congested skies.

Earlier this year, Luton airport was named worst in Britain for punctuality according to Civil Aviation Authority data. Gatwick recorded the second worst punctuality.

‘Delays can totally wreck a trip’