Manchester Airport was the second-worst airport in the UK for flight delays last year, a new investigation has revealed.
Departures from the south Manchester airport were 29 minutes behind schedule on average in 2022, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the PA news agency.
It comes after a summer of chaos which led to the managing director of Manchester Airport promising holidaymakers that their experience would be a 'very different' one this year.
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The airport wasn't far from the headlines as many passengers and families endured a stressful start to their summer breaks, with staff shortages and cancelled flights by airlines taking their toll.
Holidaymakers shared photographs of long snaking queues for security running outside airport terminals and for passport control.
Birmingham Airport in the West Midlands was ranked the worst in Britain for flight punctuality for the second year in a row, with flights there delayed by an average of 30 minutes. The airport said it is 'running smoothly' this year.
Doncaster Sheffield – which closed in November – had the joint second poorest punctuality record as Manchester Airport in 2022.
They were followed by Luton (28 minutes), Gatwick (27 minutes) and Bristol (26 minutes) airports. East Midlands airport had the best performance, with an average delay of just 13 minutes.
The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures. Cancelled flights were not included.
May and June were the worst months for flight reliability in 2022 as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with a surge in demand for holidays.
In addition to flight delays, many departing passengers were forced to spend several hours in long queues for check-in and security.
Manchester Airport managing director, Chris Woodroofe, who took up the role in June this year after the resignation of former MD Karen Smart, said 750 extra airport staff had been recruited at the end of last year, with 200 more set to take up positions before Easter this year ready for the summer months.
Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: "Your choice of airport shouldn’t make or break your trip, but for too many travellers last year that was sadly their experience.
"A repeat of last year’s chaos cannot be allowed to stand again, and airports and airlines must ensure they’re working together to ensure they can deliver their summer schedules as promised, while the Government must urgently grant the CAA the powers it needs to hold the industry to account.
"With at least some level of disruption sadly probable as we head into another busy travel season, airports’ delay records are something some travellers may well want to take into consideration, even if that involves travelling slightly further from home.”
CAA head of consumer Anna Bowles said: "Our data tells us that too many passengers faced disappointing levels of delays across UK airports last year. It is important consumers experience a high-quality service from both airlines and airports this year.
"We expect airlines to proactively provide passengers with information about their rights when flights are disrupted."
Asked what passengers could expect from the airport over the 2023 summer getaway, Mr Woodroofe told the Manchester Evening News : "It will be at least as good as 2019. If they are doing the comparison with 2022, they should actually be thinking 'this feels better'. It will be different. I talk about a step change in improvement."
A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said: "Punctuality can be affected by a number of factors, many of which can be outside of our control, such as adverse weather, air traffic control issues elsewhere or operational challenges faced by our airlines and their handling agents.
"We are committed to doing everything in our power to support all our carriers to achieve the best possible on-time departure rates, while protecting their flight schedules and avoiding the need for cancellations, as we did throughout 2022.
"Since the period covered by this data, we have been pleased to see departure punctuality improve significantly, thanks to strong teamwork between the whole airport community at Manchester."
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