Worst airline for delays last summer - with flights nearly an hour late on average

Wizz Air customers faced some of the most delays last summer according to analysis of flight data, it has been reported.

Based on the Hungarian carrier's performance last summer, two thirds of its flights into and out of the UK were delayed by 15 minutes or more, Civil Aviation Authority data shows.

Wizz Air also had the longest average delay of all airlines included in the study, with flights on running 55 minutes late.

The study, of 385,000 flights in and out of the UK during June, July and August 2022, was conducted by Forbes Advisor and reported by Mail Online.

TUI Airways had the second-highest percentage of delays over 15 minutes at 61%, and an average delay of 46 minutes.

Wizz Air was the biggest offender, according to the data (PA)

Just under half of Lufthansa's flights were similarly late, but its average delay was just 23 minutes.

Air Portugal had a 48% delay rate and an average delay time of 25 minutes.

EasyJet - one of the bigger airlines on the list - made the most flights of any carrier in the list, recording 90,988 over the three months.

Of those, 47.8% failed to arrive on time, with an average delay of 29 minutes.

Ryanair placed sixth on the list with a 47% 15 minute delay rate and average delay time of 29 minutes.

Laura Howard, travel insurance expert at Forbes Advisor, said: "While our data is retrospective, it serves as a useful reminder for holidaymakers of 2023 to understand their rights around all-too-frequent flight delays and cancellations.

"For medium-haul flights, such as to Spain, Portugal or Greece, the airline has a duty of care to passengers delayed for more than three hours – no matter the cause. This could include free food and drink vouchers or an overnight hotel stay where appropriate."

A spokesperson for Wizz Air said: "“At Wizz Air, we do everything possible to ensure that passengers reach their destination on time and with minimal delay.

"We invest heavily into time performance, which is key to our ultra-efficient business model. A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance between June – August 2022.

"These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports.

"We are committed to constantly reviewing and refining processes to mitigate these issues and since summer 2022, we have seen an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes.”

TUI was second on the list (NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Airlines with worst delays during summer 2022

The research analysed the total number of flights from June to August 2022, looking at flights which were delayed over 15 minutes.

1. Wizz Air - 65.6% of flights delayed, average of 55.46 minutes
2. TUI Airways - 61.3% of flights delayed, average of 46.10 minutes
3. Lufthansa - 49.3% of flights delayed, average of 23.15 minutes
4. Air Portugal - 48.5% of flights delayed, average of 25.51 minutes
5. easyJet - 47.8% of flights delayed, average of 29.32 minutes
6. Ryanair - 47.1% of flights delayed, average of 29.32 minutes
7. Air France - 45.3% of flights delayed, average of 24.20 minutes
8. Jet2.com - 45.1% of flights delayed, average of 31.20 minutes
9. British Airways - 44.3% of flights delayed, average of 26.31 minutes
10. Virgin Atlantic - 41.6% of flights delayed, average of 25.08 minutes