Birmingham airport ranked worst in UK for flight delays for a second year in a row
Birmingham airport has been ranked as the worst in the UK for flight delays for a second year in a row.
An investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority found that departures from the airport were on average half an hour behind schedule in 2022.
That was more than twice as long as the previous year, when it was also ranked last for punctuality.
Around 10.3 million passengers travelled through Birmingham airport last year, making it the seventh busiest in the UK.
Meanwhile, East Midlands airport had the best performance in the country, with an average delay of just 13 minutes.
Elsewhere, Doncaster Sheffield - which closed in November - and Manchester airports had the joint second poorest punctuality records in 2022, with an average delay of 29 minutes.
They were followed by Luton (28 minutes), Gatwick (27 minutes) and Bristol (26 minutes) airports.
The average across all airports was 23 minutes.
May and June were the worst months for flight reliability in 2022 as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with a surge in demand for holidays.
The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures, and cancelled flights were not included.
Breakdown of airport flight delay figures
1. Birmingham (30 minutes)
=2. Manchester (29 minutes)
=2. Doncaster Sheffield (29 minutes)
4. Luton (28 minutes)
5. Gatwick (27 minutes)
6. Bristol (26 minutes)
=7. Cardiff (24 minutes)
=7. Edinburgh (24 minutes)
9. Heathrow (22 minutes)
=10. Newcastle (21 minutes)
=10. Isle of Man (21 minutes)
=10. Aberdeen (21 minutes)
=13. Leeds Bradford (20 minutes)
=13. Southend (20 minutes)
=15. Glasgow (19 minutes)
=15. Stansted (19 minutes)
=15. Southampton (19 minutes)
=15. Bournemouth (19 minutes)
=19. London City (17 minutes)
=19. Jersey (17 minutes)
21. Belfast International (16 minutes)
=22. Liverpool John Lennon (15 minutes)
=22. Belfast City (15 minutes)
=24. Exeter (14 minutes)
=24. Teesside (14 minutes)
26. East Midlands (13 minutes)
A Birmingham airport spokesman said: "The start of 2022 was devastated by Covid.
"After travel restrictions were lifted, the aviation industry fought hard to recover.
"This year, the first since 2020 not impacted by Covid, our airport is running smoothly with customers set to equal or exceed pre-pandemic numbers.
"Customers using Birmingham airport this summer can expect changes to walking routes as we build our £40 million new security hall, set to be ready for June 2024."
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: "Your choice of airport shouldn't make or break your trip, but for too many travellers last yearthat was sadly their experience.
"A repeat of last year's chaos cannot be allowed to stand again, and airports and airlines must ensure they're working together to ensure they can deliver their summer schedules as promised, while the Government must urgently grant theCAA the powers it needs to hold the industry to account.
"With at least some level of disruption sadly probable as we head into another busy travel season, airports' delay records are something some travellers may well want to take into consideration, even if that involves travelling slightly further from home."
CAA head of consumer Anna Bowles said: "Our data tells us that too manypassengers faced disappointing levels of delays across UK airports last year.
"It is important consumers experience a high-quality service from both airlines and airports this year.
"We expect airlines to proactively provide passengers with information about their rights when flights are disrupted."