Wizz Air has been named as the airline most likely to be delayed in the UK for a second year in a row, an investigation has found.
Passengers flying from UK airports on the Hungarian carrier were delayed by 46 minutes and six seconds on average in 2022, according to analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data by the PA news agency.
That was more than three times longer than the previous year, when it was also ranked last for punctuality.
The big increase in delays for Wizz Air and other airlines came in a turbulent year for commercial air travel as the industry got back up to speed following coronavirus travel restrictions.
Wizz Air operates short-haul flights from eight UK airports including Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick and Luton.
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Tui recorded the second worst punctuality last year, with an average delay of 40 minutes and 18 seconds.
This was followed by Qatar Airways (31 minutes and 48 seconds), Turkish Airlines (29 minutes and 30 seconds) and Pegasus Airlines (27 minutes and 18 seconds).
Norwegian Air Shuttle recorded the best performance with an average delay of just 13 minutes and 42 seconds.
The analysis took into account all scheduled and chartered departures from UK airports by airlines with more than 2,500 flights. Cancelled flights were not included.
The average delay for all these flights was 23 minutes.
If you are desperate to avoid being stuck in an airport for any longer than necessary, than it may be wise to avoid travelling in the early summer.
May and June were the worst months for punctuality in 2022 as the aviation sector failed to recruit and train enough staff to cope with a surge in demand for holidays following the ending of the UK's coronavirus travel rules.
This is the full ranking of major airlines based on flight punctuality from UK airports in 2022, with delay duration in brackets.
1. Wizz Air: 46 minutes and six seconds
2. Tui: 40 minutes and 18 seconds
3. Qatar Airways: 31 minutes and 48 seconds
4. Turkish Airlines: 29 minutes and 30 seconds
5. Pegasus Airlines: 27 minutes and 18 seconds
6. Flybe: 26 minutes and six seconds
7. Air Portugal: 25 minutes and 48 seconds
8. Air Canada: 25 minutes and 18 seconds
9. British Airways: 23 minutes
10. Vueling: 22 minutes and 12 seconds
=11. Ryanair: 22 minutes
=11. Loganair: 22 minutes
13. Jet2.com: 21 minutes and 42 seconds
14. Air France: 21 minutes
15. Swiss Airlines: 20 minutes and 48 seconds
16. Emirates: 20 minutes and 36 seconds
17. EasyJet: 20 minutes and 24 seconds
18. Lufthansa: 20 minutes
19. Eurowings: 19 minutes and 24 seconds
20. Virgin Atlantic: 19 minutes
21. KLM: 18 minutes and 30 seconds
22. Delta Airlines: 18 minutes and 18 seconds
23. Aer Lingus: 18 minutes and six seconds
24. Eastern Airways: 17 minutes and 30 seconds
25. American Airlines: 16 seconds and 48 seconds
26. Blue Islands: 16 minutes and 42 seconds
27. Aurigny Air Services: 16 minutes and 30 seconds
28. Iberia: 15 minutes and 36 seconds
29. SAS: 14 minutes and 30 seconds
30. United Airlines: 14 minutes and six seconds
31. Norwegian Air Shuttle: 13 minutes and 42 seconds
Rory Boland, editor of magazine Which? Travel, said: "These figures are worrying, but will be no surprise to passengers who've had to endure shoddy treatment from airlines for years."
In December 2022, the CAA said it had "significant concerns" about the Hungarian carrier as it was delaying paying refunds and its passengers were far more likely to make escalated complaints than those of other airlines.
Paul Charles, chief executive of travel consultancy The PC Agency, said strong booking levels for flights suggest consumers are "confident that issues have mostly been sorted".
But he warned that strikes are "causing disruption and I expect those to worsen in the coming months".
He added: "This may end up an equally difficult and unpredictable year for those expecting smooth journeys on every trip."
Strikes affecting the aviation sector in recent months include walkouts by security staff at Heathrow, border officials at several airports and Passport Office workers.
A spokesman for trade body Airlines UK said: "The whole industry knows how important punctuality is for customers.
"Last year was not representative due to the late unwinding of Covid restrictions which required a very steep ramp up.
"Since then, the sector has invested huge resources into increased resilience for this summer and we can't wait to welcome people back for their well-earned breaks."
A Wizz Air spokesperson said: "“At Wizz Air, we do everything possible to ensure that passengers reach their destination on time and with minimal delay.
"We invest heavily into time performance, which is key to our ultra-efficient business model. A number of issues affecting the global aviation industry contributed to a worse time performance in 2022. These issues resulted from a widespread shortage in staff, in particular within air traffic control, ground operations and baggage handling, security and across airports.
"We are committed to constantly reviewing and refining our processes to mitigate these issues and we have been seeing an overall improvement in the on-time performance of our routes and are confident our passengers are seeing this too.
"The duration of WIZZ UK flight delays have reduced by more than 40 per cent on 2022 levels this year, to 26 minutes on average, marking a significant improvement from our 2022 average of 46 minutes.”
