Flight delays reduced across UK as recession reduces demand

MORE than four in five scheduled flights were on time in the first three months of the year, the Civil Aviation Authority has said.

The number of scheduled flights landing or taking off on time between January and March increased by 11 per cent from the same period last year to 81 per cent, while the average delay fell by five minutes to 12 minutes.

The improvement could be because the recession meant airports were less busy. The number of scheduled flights was down 9 per cent compared to last year and passenger numbers fell 11 per cent.

Heathrow, the UK's biggest airport, showed the greatest improvement, with 79 per cent of flights on time compared to just 59 per cent last year. The average delay was halved from 24 minutes to 12 minutes.

London City improved from 66 per cent to 84 per cent, halving the average delay to nine minutes.

At Gatwick 65 per cent of charter flights were on time, up from 59 per cent, while 82 per cent of scheduled flights were on time, a rise of 8 per cent.

Regional airports, including Manchester, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh and Newcastle, improved the on-time performance of charter and scheduled flights to 71 per cent and 83 per cent respectively.