Airports in the UK are experiencing record passenger numbers but punctuality is down.
Around 247 million people passed through 24 of the country’s main airports in the 12 months to June, according to figures from the Civil Aviation Authority, making it the busiest period since records began.
But the rise is thought to have caused a reduction in overall punctuality, with almost a quarter (23%) of flights at least 15 minutes late between April and June. 21% of flights were delayed in the same period last year.
London Gatwick experienced the biggest decline in on-time flights, down from 74% to 67% while Leeds Bradford had the biggest improvement, up from 81% to 86%.
On average, passengers on flights to Bergen (six minutes), Cork, Shannon, Stavanger and Rotterdam (seven minutes) were delayed the least while passengers travelling to Orlando (27 minutes), Mumbai (24 minutes) and Chicago’s O’Hare (23 minutes) experienced the highest average delays.
CAA policy director, Tim Johnson, said: "UK airports have now seen the strongest first two quarters for passenger numbers since records began, which has also led to the highest ever passenger figures for a 12-month period.
"However, in line with this significant passenger growth, and the increase in commercial flights, there has also been a slight reduction in punctuality across several airports. This highlights the ongoing pressures both on runway and airspace capacity in the South East in particular.
"The prospect of continued increases in demand for air travel underlines the importance of addressing aviation capacity both on the ground and in the air."
