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Easyjet and BA rubbish report that names them worst for delays
British Airways and easyJet have dismissed a report which claimed they had more delayed flights than any other airline.
The study claimed that almost 7,000 easyJet flights were delayed in October, making it the least punctual airline in Europe, while BA had 4,223 delays, making it the second worst.
However, easyJet claimed that 82% of its flights arrived on time and that the figures used in the report were not representational because it operated more flights than other airlines so would naturally have more delays.
BA said the most common cause for a delay was air traffic restrictions.
Lufthansa, was the third worst performer, according to the report, with 4.013 hold ups.
However, Lufthansa passengers suffered the most cancellations. The German carrier axed 4,380 flights during the month, mainly due to strike action by employees.
Turkish Airlines cancelled 351 and BA and Flybe had the second highest number of cancellations with 321 each. EasyJet cancelled 169, coming in eight place.
Both easyJet and British Airways disputed the figures, saying they had far fewer cancellations in October than claimed in the report by private jet company Stratos, which analysed data from Flightstats.com.
EasyJet said it cancelled only 71 flights, not 169, while BA said it cancelled only 60 flights, not 321.
BA pointed out that it operated about 25,000 flights in October with only 60 cancellations.
It is also worth noting that Ryanair’s flights were not included in the statistics.
Heathrow was the airport with the most delays clocking up 4,072 in October, according to the report, which said heavy fog was partly to blame.
Frankfurt Airport had the most cancellations (1,815), again largely due to the Lufthansa strike.
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
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