Flight delays getting longer
Gatwick Airport suffered the worst slump in on-time performance of any UK airport during the second quarter of this year, when the average delay endured by passengers flying from the London airport increased to 18 minutes.
According to figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority, the on-time performance of all 10 monitored airports fell during the period from April to June, with the exception of London City.
Gatwick’s on-time performance fell 10 percentage points to 71% while Luton’s on-time performance fell by nine percentage points, also to 71%. At both airports the average delay increased by seven minutes to 18 minutes.
Heathrow’s on-time performance fell two percentage points to 78% and Stansted’s dropped by four percentage points, also to 78%.
London City achieved on-time performance of 88%, which was a one percentage point improvement over the second quarter of 2009.
Overall on-time performance for scheduled flights at regional airports fell by four percentage points and the average delay rose by three minutes. Manchester and Newcastle both suffered the largest decline of six percentage points and a five-minute increase in average delay.
The punctuality of charter flights also decreased by eight percentage points to 66% and the average delay rose from 21 minutes in the second quarter of 2009 to 28 minutes from April to June year.
By Linsey McNeill
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025