Flight punctuality improves on lower capacity and passengers
15.06.09
Airline punctuality at the UK's major airports has improved to levels not seen since the mid-1990s as the decline in the number of flights and passengers has made it easier to get them off on time. Just over 8 out of 10 flights (81%) arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival times between January and March of this year, according to figures published today by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). The figures are a significant improvement on the same period last year, when only 70% of flights were on time. However, this year also saw a 9% drop in the number of flights as airlines cut capacity in the face of a dramatic slump in demand.
The reduction in flights has coincided with a cut in delays attributable to air traffic control centres, according to separate figures from NATS, which provides air traffic control at 15 of the UK's biggest airports. But a bigger driver in the improvement in delays has been an 11% reduction in passenger numbers, which has made it easier to process people through security and baggage control and get planes off on time.
The average delay fell from 17 minutes in 2008's first quarter to 12 minutes this year. The most dramatic improvement was at Heathrow, where punctuality went up by a third (from 59% to 79%) and the average length of delay was cut from 24 to 12 minutes. A major factor in Heathrow's improved figures was the opening of Terminal 5, which greatly expanded the airport's baggage facilities and helped relieve congestion.
London City improved from 66% to 84% and halved its average delay to 9 minutes. At Gatwick, 65% of charter flights were on time - up from 59% - while 82% of scheduled flights were on time, a rise of 8%. Outside London, Edinburgh Airport saw the greatest improvement, with punctuality up 12 percentage points, with Glasgow narrowly behind.
Overall, the proportion of on-time charter flights improved by 7 percentage points in the first quarter of 2009 to 68%. The average delay fell from 29 minutes in the first quarter of 2008 to 23 minutes in the first quarter of 2009.
Among the 75 scheduled and charter destinations with the most passengers in the first quarter of 2009, flights to Rotterdam, in Holland, had the highest on-time performance, at 91%, and those to Luxembourg the shortest average delay, at 5 minutes. Tenerife was the only charter destination among the top 75 destinations for January to March 2009, with its services attaining an on-time performance of 76% and an average delay of 18 minutes.
Flights to Istanbul recorded the worst on-time performance of 58% amongst the top 75 scheduled and charter destinations. The longest average delays were to Toronto, Canada, (22.4 minutes), while the shortest were to Luxembourg (5 minutes).
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