Wizz Air tops list of worst airlines in the UK for flight delays

Hayley Skirka

As we near the end of a summer blighted by travel chaos, a new report has revealed the worst airlines in the UK for flight delays in 2021.

Topping the rankings for tardy flight departures last year is Wizz Air.

The Hungarian airline recorded an average delay of 14 minutes and 24 seconds on flights from UK airports, according to an analysis of data from the Civil Aviation Authority by the PA news agency.

The low-cost airline operates an A320 fleet to 10 airports in the UK, including London Gatwick, Edinburgh and Birmingham.

The report shows that flights typically departed five minutes later than the average delay time for UK flights, which was eight and a half minutes.

Tui Airways had the second-highest UK flight delays in 2021. Aircraft operated by the British charter airline departed an average of 13 minutes and 18 seconds behind schedule.

Rounding out the top three worst offenders is British Airways, the UK’s flag carrier, which recorded an average flight delay of 12 minutes and 42 seconds last year.

The 10 worst airlines for UK flight delays

A man sleeps on a bench at Heathrow Terminal 5 airport in London, Britain. Reuters

Wizz Air (14 minutes, 24 seconds)
Tui Airways (13 minutes, 18 seconds)
British Airways (12 minutes, 42 seconds)
Virgin Atlantic (12 minutes)
Loganair (11 minutes, 30 seconds)
Air France (11 minutes, 12 seconds)
Lufthansa (10 minutes)
KLM (eight minutes, 42 seconds)
Eastern Airways (seven minutes, 48 seconds)
Jet2.com (seven minutes, 42 seconds)

At the other end of the scale, Aer Lingus came out on top with the shortest average delay per flight. Travellers flying with the Irish airline faced a typical delay of only three minutes and 12 seconds.

And the two most-used airlines by UK passengers — easyJet and Ryanair — also fared well when it came to punctuality.

EasyJet had the second-shortest average delay per flight at four minutes and 36 seconds, while Ryanair — Europe’s largest passenger airline by passenger numbers — ranked third, with its Boeing 737 jets taking off an average of six minutes and six seconds after scheduled departure times.

Ireland's Aer Lingus had the shortest flight delay times in the UK last year. Reuters — Ireland’s Aer Lingus had the shortest flight delay times in the UK last year. Reuters

The study considered all scheduled and chartered departures from UK airports by airlines with more than 2,500 flights. It did not take cancelled flights into consideration.

An earlier investigation by PA this year revealed that Birmingham was the worst airport in the UK for flight delays last year.

As a whole, the aviation industry in the UK performed better in terms of punctuality in 2021 than it did before the global pandemic, because of a reduction in the number of flights caused by travel restrictions.

Winter travel warning as airlines cancel flights

British Airways is cutting more than 10,000 short-haul flights in and out of Heathrow Airport until March next year. AP Photo

Next year’s report is likely to throw up some much longer average delay durations, after the aviation industry struggled to meet a rise in travel demand and worked through staff shortages at airlines and airports.

Tens of thousands of flights have been cancelled this summer and more are being pulled from winter schedules.

British Airways announced last week that it was dropping at least 10,000 flights from its schedule until the end of March, and German airline Lufthansa is also removing flights from its winter schedule.

Travellers flying Wizz Air from Wales in September will only be able to fly to Milan and Bucharest after the budget airline scrapped flights to all other destinations for at least six months.

Courtesy: thenationalnews

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