CAA figures confirm UK airport punctuality improved in fourth quarter 2007

Airline Industry Information, April 16, 2008

AIRLINE INDUSTRY INFORMATION-(C)1997-2008 M2 COMMUNICATIONS LTD

Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), an aviation regulator, have confirmed that the punctuality of scheduled airlines improved in the last quarter of 2007, compared with the last quarter of 2006, for the ten UK airports monitored, which include: Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Luton, Stansted, Manchester, Newcastle, Edinburgh, Glasgow and London City.

The CAA said the overall on-time performance, defined as early to 15 minutes late, of scheduled airlines increased by 1% during October to December 2007, compared to the same period in 2006. It claimed the proportion of scheduled flights which operated on time, increased at all the airports monitored, with the exception of Heathrow and London City, where a decrease of 1% and 10% were noted, respectively.

The average delay for scheduled airlines across all scheduled flights monitored, decreased from 18 minutes in the fourth quarter 2006, to 17 minutes in the same quarter 2007. The average delay decreased for all monitored airports, except for London City, where the average delay increased by five minutes, to 20 minutes.

According to the CAA, the proportion of on-time charter flights fell 1% in the last quarter of 2007 to 66%, compared to 67% in the same period in 2006, with performance falling for all airports, except Luton, where it increased 3%.

In addition, the average delay across charter flights in the fourth quarter decreased from 29 minutes in the fourth quarter of 2006, to 26 minutes in the same period of 2007. The average delay increased for Stansted and Newcastle by two minutes and by one minute at Birmingham, while Glasgow remained the same.

((Comments on this story may be sent to aii.feedback@m2.com))