Gatwick improves punctuality as Heathrow plummets

Heathrow experience more late flight departures in the first three months of 2008 than in any other time period since heightened security measures were introduced in August 2006.

Delays were significantly worse than in the same time period in 2007, and the worst since 2001, with 44% of flights affected compared with 35% of flights in the first quarter of 2008.

The poor performance at Heathrow reduced overall punctuality figures at UK airports to 68%, down from 72% last year, according to a Civil Aviation Authority report. Flights are considered late if they are delayed longer than 15 minutes.

Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and Birmingham airports all reported improved on-time performance, however, on scheduled services. Luton’s improvement was the most significant, with 76% of its flights on time, up from 71% last year. Gatwick’s record was up from 68% to 72%, and Stansted’s was up from 78% to 80%.

Airport operator BAA claimed that Heathrow’s poor show was due to the chronic congestion that leads to traffic restrictions whenever weather conditions are adverse. The difficulties experienced with the opening of Terminal 5 contributed to the poor on-time figures as well, but this occurred very close to the end of the quarter.

Charter flights punctuality fell from 65% to 62%, year-on-year, with Stansted the only UK airport showing improvement. Average charter delays increased by one minute, up from 27 to 28 minutes. The average delay for a scheduled flight delay was 18 minutes, up 3 minutes from 2007.

www.baa.com