If you have ever sat at a departure gate watching your flight time tick past with no update on the board, you will know that airline punctuality is not an abstract concern. It is the difference between a holiday that starts well and one that begins with three hours of fluorescent lighting and a lukewarm coffee from the terminal cafe. New data from the Civil Aviation Authority makes clear that not all airlines are equally likely to put you in that position.

Analysis of CAA data by the Press Association, covering scheduled and charter departures from UK airports across 2025, has produced the most comprehensive picture of airline punctuality available for British travellers. The headline finding is that Air India recorded the longest average delay for the second consecutive year, at 36 minutes and 36 seconds per departure.

The worst performers

Air India’s position at the top of the delay table is notable not just for its margin over the competition but for the fact that it holds the ranking for two years running, suggesting a structural rather than circumstantial problem with its UK operations.

Behind Air India, Blue Islands, the Channel Islands regional carrier, recorded an average delay of 25 minutes and 12 seconds, though the airline has since entered liquidation making its future operations a moot point. TAP Air Portugal came third at 23 minutes, followed by Saudia at 21 minutes and 18 seconds.

TUI Airways placed fifth, with average delays of 20 minutes and 24 seconds, making it the worst-performing major UK holiday carrier in the analysis. The airline’s worst individual route was Birmingham to Zante, which averaged 46 minutes of delay among routes operating at least 100 flights in the period. TUI’s response to the data is worth reading in full, however, because it makes a point that the raw numbers do not capture.

A spokesperson said: “Cancelling a flight may remove it from delay statistics, but it does not remove the impact on customers. By continuing to operate flights, we help ensure customers reach their destination, rather than facing greater disruption and uncertainty.” The argument is that an airline willing to operate a delayed flight rather than cancel it will always appear worse in a delay league table than one that cancels more readily, even if its customers end up better served. It is a fair point, though it does not fully account for a 46-minute average on a single route.

The best performers

At the other end of the table, Scandinavian Airlines recorded the best punctuality of any carrier in the analysis, with average delays of just eight minutes from UK airports. Virgin Atlantic came second at 11 minutes, a strong performance for a long-haul carrier where the operational variables are considerably more complex than on short-haul routes.

British Airways recorded an average delay of 12 minutes and 36 seconds, placing it among the better performers in the analysis and well below the overall average. EasyJet, at 13 minutes and 48 seconds, and Ryanair, at 15 minutes and 48 seconds, both came in below the overall mean, which may surprise travellers who associate budget carriers with operational unreliability.

The overall picture

The average delay across all airlines in the analysis was 14 minutes and 48 seconds, which represents a meaningful improvement on the previous year’s figure of 18 minutes and 18 seconds. That improvement across the board suggests that the post-pandemic operational turbulence that affected the industry in 2022 and 2023 is continuing to ease, even if individual carriers still have significant gaps to close.

CAA Director Tim Johnson acknowledged the impact delays have on passengers while pointing to the consumer protections that exist when things go wrong: “When lengthy delays happen, they can cause significant disruption and inconvenience for passengers. Airlines are expected to minimise the impact of delays where possible, by providing timely information and upholding passengers’ rights during disruption.”

The full ranking

For reference, here is how every airline in the analysis performed, covering only carriers operating more than 2,500 UK departures in the period:

  • Air India (36 minutes 36 seconds),
  • Blue Islands (25 minutes 12 seconds),
  • TAP Air Portugal (23 minutes),
  • Saudia (21 minutes 18 seconds),
  • TUI Airways (20 minutes 24 seconds),
  • SunExpress (20 minutes 12 seconds),
  • Aurigny (19 minutes 36 seconds),
  • Pegasus Airlines (18 minutes 36 seconds),
  • Swiss (17 minutes 54 seconds),
  • KLM (17 minutes 48 seconds),
  • Air France (17 minutes),
  • Vueling (16 minutes 54 seconds),
  • Jet2 (16 minutes 36 seconds),
  • Wizz Air (16 minutes 12 seconds),
  • Ryanair (15 minutes 48 seconds),
  • Aer Lingus (15 minutes 30 seconds),
  • Qatar Airways (14 minutes 54 seconds),
  • American Airlines (14 minutes 42 seconds),
  • Eurowings and Delta Airlines (14 minutes 36 seconds each),
  • Emerald Airlines and United Airlines (13 minutes 54 seconds each),
  • EasyJet (13 minutes 48 seconds),
  • Turkish Airlines (13 minutes 24 seconds),
  • Lufthansa (13 minutes 12 seconds),
  • Emirates (13 minutes 6 seconds),
  • British Airways (12 minutes 36 seconds),
  • Finnair and Loganair (12 minutes 18 seconds each),
  • Norwegian (11 minutes 48 seconds),
  • Iberia and Air Canada (11 minutes 36 seconds each),
  • Virgin Atlantic (11 minutes),
  • Scandinavian Airlines (8 minutes).

What this means for your booking

Punctuality data is one input among several when choosing an airline, not a deciding factor on its own. Route availability, price, baggage policy, and the overall travel experience all matter more to most travellers most of the time. But for anyone with tight connections, an event to reach on arrival, or simply a low tolerance for airport waiting, the gap between eight minutes and thirty-six minutes of average delay is not trivial.

The data suggests that on short-haul European routes from the UK, the budget carriers are not the punctuality risk their reputation might suggest. On long-haul routes, the variance is wider and the consequences of a significant delay are proportionally more disruptive. Checking an airline’s punctuality record before booking a trip where timing matters is a simple step that takes very little effort and occasionally saves a great deal of inconvenience.