The UK airline named 'worst' in the country - average flights 31 minutes behind schedule

Cheap flights airline Wizz Air is far from living up to its name, new data suggests, as after too often leaving passengers stuck waiting for take-off it has been named the worst major airline for delays.

The budget carrier's UK departures were an average of 31 minutes and 36 seconds late last year, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data.

This means Wizz Air has ranked as the least punctual airline for UK flights three years in a row, despite a surge in fares.

This was a reduction of nearly a third compared with 2022, but means the airline recorded the worst punctuality for UK flights for three consecutive years.

Wizz Air said it has made “significant improvements” but acknowledged there is “still work to be done”.

The airline's UK operations serve Aberdeen, Birmingham, Gatwick, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool and Luton airports.

The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures from UK airports by airlines operating more than 2,500 flights. Cancelled flights were not included.

The average delay for all these flights was 20 minutes and 42 seconds, down from 23 minutes in 2022.

Turkish Airlines recorded the second worst punctuality last year, with an average delay of 28 minutes and 36 seconds.

Tui’s timeliness was lacking with an average delay of 28 minutes and 24 seconds, coming third. This was followed by Air India (28 minutes and 12 seconds) and Turkish low-cost carrier Pegasus Airlines (25 minutes and six seconds).

Consumer group Which? said airline passengers are in the “outrageous position” of paying record air fares for “unreliable services".

Irish carrier Emerald Airlines recorded the best performance last year with an average delay of just 13 minutes and six seconds, with Virgin Atlantic in second place (13 minutes and 42 seconds).

Despite its poor UK punctuality, the airline – which operates in Europe, north Africa, the Middle East and other parts of Asia – saw passenger numbers reach a record 62.0 million in the year to the end of March, up by more than a fifth on the total of 51.1 million in the previous 12 months.

Over the same period, Wizz Air recorded a pre-tax profit of 341.1 million euros (£290.4 million), as its revenue from ticket sales per available seat rose by 11.2 percent year-on-year, which was similar to fare rises across the airline sector.

Aviation consultant John Strickland said Wizz Air had “many unhappy customers” – particularly in 2022 – as it struggled with punctuality due to being “over ambitious” in terms of how many flights it could operate reliably after coronavirus travel restrictions eased.

He said the airline has “put a lot of effort in” to improve through measures such as replanning rosters and having more standby aircraft available, but “the fruits of that will not be seen immediately”.