UK flight delays decrease on reduced demand

www.caa.co.uk

More than 80 per cent of all scheduled flights in the UK were on time during the first quarter of this year, according to the Civil Aviation Authority, (CAA).

Between January and March, the number of scheduled flights that landed or took off on time rose by 11 per cent over the same months in 2008, up to 81 per cent. The average delay time dropped by five minutes, down to 12 minutes.

One of the reasons for the improvement could be related to airports being less busy during the recession. Scheduled flight numbers were down by nine per cent as compared to the same period last year; and UK passenger traffic declined by 11 per cent.

Heathrow airport, the largest in the UK, saw the greatest improvement, with 79 per cent of its flights on time, as compared with a 59 per cent on-time performance for the first quarter of 2008. The average delay was cut in half, dropping from 24 to 12 minutes.

At London City airport, there was an improvement from 66 to 84 per cent; and the average delay was halved, from 18 to nine minutes.

Gatwick saw 65 per cent of its charter flights on time, which was up from 59 per cent last year; and 82 per cent of scheduled services were on time – an eight per cent increase.

www.caa.co.uk