The UK’s worst airline for delays right now has been revealed

Flying comes with a lot of ups and downs, and we’re not just talking about flying into the air (ba-dum-tss). Sorry. 

Having the ability to walk into a little metal tube in Britain, sit down for a little while, and get out half way across the world is truly a wonder. We don’t give commercial flying enough credit for how much it has opened up the entire world for us all. With that said, it can be an absolute nightmare, and at times getting on a budget flight feels more like a punishment than a genius invention.

Having your flight be delayed is one such nightmare. We’ve all got one horror story about a 16-hour delay followed by a flight with enough turbulence to startle a waltzer ride, but some airlines are worse for it than others.

Using data from the Civil Aviation Authority, researchers have been able to conclude exactly which airlines are the most and least reliable right now by analysing statistics from 2500 flights which were due to leave, and seeing which left on time. If they didn’t manage to hit the air as scheduled, the researchers determined what the average delay time was on flights from 30 different airlines in the UK, and from there they were ranked in order of longest average wait time, to least.

It will come as no surprise that budget airline Wizz Air led the pack by a good few minutes, with customers waiting an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds longer than was planned. The airline, which is often panned by travellers for providing a less than perfect customer experience, said that it is aware that delays are an issue and that despite ‘significant improvements’ being made in the area, there is ‘still work to be done’.

In second place was Turkish Airlines, with average delay times sitting at 28 minutes and 36 seconds. Then came TUI, which avoided the silver by just 12 seconds, at 28 minutes and 36 seconds.

If punctuality is important to you, Emerald Airlines may be the way to go. You’ll only be sat around, on average, for just over 13 minutes with them, less than half of Wizz Air’s half hour hold up. Here’s the complete list of UK airlines ranked from most to least late.

The worst airlines in the UK for delays

1. Wizz Air (31 minutes and 36 seconds)
2. Turkish Airlines (28 minutes and 36 seconds)
3. Tui (28 minutes and 24 seconds)
4. Air India (28 minutes and 12 seconds)
5. Pegasus Airlines (25 minutes and six seconds)
6. Air Portugal (23 minutes and 48 seconds)
7. Vueling Airlines (23 minutes and six seconds)
8. Swiss Airlines (22 minutes and 48 seconds)
9. Air Canada (22 minutes and six seconds)
10. British Airways (21 minutes and 36 seconds)
11. EasyJet (21 minutes and 30 seconds)
12. Aurigny Air Services (20 minutes and 48 seconds)
13. Stobart Air (20 minutes and 42 seconds)
14. Ryanair (19 minutes and 54 seconds)
15. Loganair (19 minutes and six seconds)
16. American Airlines (18 minutes and 48 seconds)
17. Eastern Airways (18 minutes and 42 seconds)
18. Air France (18 minutes and 36 seconds)
19. Emirates (18 minutes and 30 seconds)
20. Lufthansa (18 minutes and 30 seconds)
21. Eurowings (17 minutes and 54 seconds)
22. Jet2.com (17 minutes and 48 seconds)
23. Norwegian Air (17 minutes and 48 seconds)
24. Aer Lingus (17 minutes and 24 seconds)
25. Qatar (16 minutes and 24 seconds)
26. KLM (15 minutes and 54 seconds)
27. United Airlines (15 minutes and 36 seconds)
28. Blue Islands (15 minutes and six seconds)
29. Delta Airlines (15 minutes)
30. Iberia (14 minutes and 24 seconds)
31. SAS (14 minutes)
32. Virgin Atlantic (13 minutes and 42 seconds)
33. Emerald Airlines (13 minutes and six seconds)

Eyes on the skies

There’s always more to say about British aviation. For instance, did you see that that easyJet is launching three new low-cost holiday routes from this major UK airport? Or that Birmingham airport could be in for a summer of chaos? We’ve also updated you on how air traffic control shortages could cause chaos this summer, and why the 100ml rule won’t be scrapped this year.

Did you see that Glastonbury is collaborating with Spotify for the official 2024 festival app?

Plus: 8 UK universities are the best in the world.

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