Holidaymakers are delayed by 15 minutes for flights at every British airport, figures show

Holidaymakers from the UK face average delays of 15 minutes at every British airport, Civil Aviation Authority figures show. 

London Luton was the worst UK airport for flight punctuality with flights departing, on average, 20 minutes late.

London Gatwick recorded the second-worst punctuality performance followed by Jersey and Durham Tees Valley, according to analysis by Press Association.

To create the rankings details of every scheduled and chartered flight from 25 of the UK's major airports were analysed. Cancelled flights were not included.

London Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, was found to have the best performance, with aircraft typically taking off 11 minutes late.

Leeds Bradford had the second-best record, followed by Belfast City and London City.

Across every airport, the average delay was 15 minutes. 

Commenting on the figures a spokesperson for London Luton said: "We regret any delay our passengers experience."

She added that punctuality was influenced by "many factors" that are outside the airport’s control such as air traffic control strikes, late-arriving aircraft, bad weather and congested airspace.

Gatwick said it is doing "everything within its power" to improve the proportion of its flights that depart on time, including using new technology to predict and recover from late-running flights.

A spokesperson said it is speeding up the time it takes to turn around inbound aircraft.

The Airport Operators Association, which represents the interests of UK airports, said outdated infrastructure is hampering efforts to reduce delays.

"The UK needs to modernise its airspace," a spokesman said. "Airports are working with air traffic service providers and the Government to plan and deliver the necessary changes so everyone can continue to fly with a minimum of delays."