Passengers are suffering fewer delays at Britain's leading airports as the punctuality of flights improves, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) announced today.
London City showed the greatest improvement with 74 per cent of flights arriving or departing within 15 minutes of schedule in the last quarter of 2008 – up by 18 per cent on the same period in 2007. At Heathrow 73 per cent of flights arrived or departed on time (up by 13 per cent) during the same period. Overall, three-quarters of flights at London's five airports were on time – up by 10 per cent on last year.
When there were delays, the average time a passenger spent waiting was also down on last year. For example, at Heathrow, the average delay fell by seven minutes to 14 minutes.
Airline analysts suggest that a fall in the number of flights and passengers, due to the financial downturn, may have taken the pressure of airport authorities and air traffic control and improved punctuality.
The number of flights fell by six per cent between October and December 2008, compared with the same period in 2007, while the CAA reported earlier this month that the number of air passengers in the UK had fallen for the first time in 17 years.
The punctuality of charter flights also improved. Gatwick was the only airport where more flights were delayed in the final quarter than in the same period last year.
Charter passengers also had to endure longer delays – the average wait for a charter passenger was 24 minutes compared with 13 minutes for those flying on scheduled airlines
- The statistics relate to departures and arrivals at CAA-operated airports – Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, London City, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted.
