Worst airlines for flight delays at UK airports – Full list

Cheap flights airline Wizz is far from living up to its name.

After too often leaving passengers stuck waiting for take-off it has been named the worst major airline for delays for the second year running.

The Hungarian carrier’s UK departures were 46 minutes and six seconds behind schedule in 2022 on average, Civil Aviation Authority data show.

That was more than three times longer than its average for 2021, when it was also ranked last for punctuality.

Consumer group Which? bemoaned the “worrying” delays with Wizz Air, which runs short-haul flights from eight UK airports including Luton, Birmingham, Edinburgh and Gatwick.

Tui’s timeliness was also lacking, with an average delay of 40 minutes and 18 seconds, coming second to Wizz Air. It was followed by Qatar Airways (31 minutes and 48 seconds), Turkish Airlines (29 minutes and 30 seconds) and Pegasus Airlines (27 minutes and 18 seconds).

Norwegian Air Shuttle was the most efficient, with an average delay of just 13 minutes and 42 seconds.

For all flights leaving the UK, the average delay was 23 minutes.

May and June were the worst months for punctuality, as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with a surge in demand for post-pandemic holidays.

Further strikes this year are likely to cause similar traveller delays, experts have warned. Rory Boland, editor of Which?

Travel, said: “These figures will be no surprise to passengers who’ve had to endure shoddy treatment from airlines for years. To better protect passengers, the Government must give the CAA effective powers to clamp down on poor airline behaviour and hand out hefty fines.”

The CAA has civil powers to take action against airlines, but court cases typically drag on for several years.

Proposals to give it additional powers were consulted on last year, but no action was taken. In December, the CAA had “significant concerns” about Wizz Air as it was delaying paying refunds, while also attracting more escalated complaints than any other carrier. Wizz Air did not respond to a request for comment.

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