Airline passengers face substantial delays as flight punctuality falls

The majority of the UK’s busiest airlines have experienced an increase in significant journey delays, with an estimated 17m passengers affected last year alone. CAA data of 10m flights collected between 2014 and 2018 found 8 in 10 of the busiest carriers witnessed an uptick in delays of more than an hour, according to consumer group Which?. Delays of 1 hour or more on Ryanair have more than doubled in the past 5 years from 3% in 2014 to almost 8% in 2018, while EasyJet delays rose from under 5% in 2014 to almost 9% last year, it found. Many of the carriers criticised by Which? were budget airlines. Thomas Cook customers were the most likely to face a delay of at least 1 hour, with an 11.5% chance of returning from their travels at least an hour late. <br/>