Wizz Air has been ranked the UK’s worst airline for the third year in the row, with its departures delayed by an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds per flight.
The latest Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data, analysed by PA News Agency, takes into account all scheduled and chartered departures from UK airports by airlines that make at least 2,500 flights. Cancellations were not included in the analysis. The average for all flights was 20 minutes and 42 seconds, down from 23 minutes in 2022 – a difficult post -Covid year for aviation.
28 minutes and 36 seconds
This year, Wizz has come out worst, followed by Turkish Airlines which recorded an average delay of 28 minutes and 36 seconds on its flights. The rest of the top ten of shame is populated by:
- Tui – 28 minutes and 24 seconds
- Air India – 28 minutes and 12 seconds
- Pegasus Airlines (budget Turkish carrier) – 25 minutes and six seconds
- TAP Air Portugal – 23 minutes 48 seconds
- Vueling – 23 minutes six seconds
- Swiss – 22 minutes 48 seconds
- Air Canada – 22 minutes six seconds
- British Airways – 21 minutes 36 seconds
Defending its record, Wizz, which operates from Aberdeen, Birmingham, Gatwick, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Luton airports, and served over 62 million passengers – a 20% annual increase – in the year to March, said it had “experienced extraordinary operating challenges driven mostly by the external environment” in 2022.
“Since then, we have invested more than £90m to stabilise operations, reduce the number of delays and provide a better experience for customers,” a spokeswoman said. “While we saw significant improvements in 2023, there was still work to be done. Helping our customers reach their destination is our number one priority and we will continue to invest in our service to ensure they get there on time.”
In that time, Wizz Air’s pre-tax profit rose to €341.1m (£290.4m), with ticket revenue 11.2% up, in line with sector norms. But consumer watchdog Which? Travel slammed the industry’s prices rises and poor service record. Rory Boland, the magazine’s editor said the figures “come as no surprise to travellers, who find themselves in the outrageous position of paying record amounts for air fares and in return receiving unreliable services.”
He urged airlines “to get their act together and start delivering the service their customers are paying for – including ensuring they’re investing properly in their customer service teams.”
However Dale Keller, the UK’s Board of Airline Representatives Chief defended the sector, saying 2023 had been “an extremely challenging year” with delays caused by external factors that airlines could not address, such as the technical issues that caused air traffic chaos at the height of the season and industrial action.
