Wizz Air crowned worst airline for flight delays
Wizz Air was crowned the UK’s worst airline for flight delays in 2021, according to data from the Civil Aviation Authority analysed by the PA news agency.
Figures showed that Wizz Air – which operates from 10 British airports, including Luton and Gatwick – ran on average 14 minutes behind schedule.
Wizz Air was followed by Tui’s average delay of 13 minutes and British Airways’ (BA) 12 minutes.
Commenting on the news, a Wizz Air spokesperson told Morning Wire that while regrettable, delays under 15 minutes were still a “no small feat” after the two years of pandemic, which threatened the sector’s existence.
Low-cost titans such as Easyjet and Ryanair performed better as Easyjet ranked second best, with a hold-up of four minutes, while Ryanair came in third.
An Easyjet spokesperson told Morning Wire the carrier was committed to improving its punctuality even further while Tui declined to comment.
Ryanair, on the other hand, told Morning Wire: “Ryanair is operating a full schedule of 3,000 daily flights this summer, unlike many other airlines who have failed to plan adequately for the return of travel post Covid.”
“While these findings are worrying, the reality has actually been far worse for many travellers this summer,” commented Guy Hobbs, editor of consumer champion Which? Travel.
“Holidaymakers have faced a barrage of disruption over the last few months, and these latest figures only serve to underline the need for urgent reform of the travel industry.
Following the reopening of borders, the aviation industry – especially in the UK – has been plagued by a raft of delays and cancellations.
Due to a combination of ramped up demand and significant labour shortages, Britons have faced flight disruption during the busy holiday season.
To guarantee smoother operations, carriers such as BA and Easyjet were forced to axe thousands of flights, while Wizz posted a quarterly loss of €285m.
The UK flag carrier made the headlines last week when it emerged it had made the highest number of cuts for the Summer Bank Holiday, as it axed 380 flights since early July.
BA, which had cut 20 per cent of its summer schedule, was compelled to remove 10,000 flights from its winter calendar due to Heathrow’s extension of the passenger cap.