Birmingham Airport was the UK’s most punctual airport in the last quarter of 2012, with 85% of scheduled flights and 84% of charter flights operating on time.
Overall, this was six percent higher than the national average for scheduled services (79%) and ten percent better for charter services (74%).
The report by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) shows that compared with the same period last year, Gatwick had the biggest fall in on time performance (-5%), while Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted all increased their average delays by three minutes.
Birmingham also had the shortest delays of all airports, with an average delay of nine minutes for scheduled flights and 14 minutes for charter services. This compared to the national average of 12 minutes for scheduled and 19 minutes for charter flights.
When compared to the same quarter in 2011, Birmingham’s average delays reduced by four minutes on charter services and one minute for scheduled flights. The number of on-time services increased at Birmingham by 5% for charter flights and remained at 85% for scheduled flights.
Paul Kehoe, CEO of Birmingham Airport, said: We work very hard with all our partners to get our passengers on their journey on time and we’re therefore really delighted that we have come top of the punctuality charts for Q4 2012. Our airlines and passengers are clearly benefiting from the investment that we’ve made in our facilities over the last few years and reports like this demonstrate that we operate an efficient and hassle-free airport.”
During October to December 2012, Birmingham Airport handled 1,897,550 passengers and 11,808 aircraft movements.
The full CAA punctuality report can be found here.