The UK's most delayed airlines revealed;
The
consumer group analysed landing times for 850,000 flights at 25 UK airports and
found that on average only 75% of all flights arrived on time.
Dutch
airline KLM was the most punctual carrier, followed by Qatar Airways.
Air
Transat was the most tardy, with only 55% of flights landing within 15 minutes
of their planned arrival time.
Icelandair
and Norwegian were not much better, with on-time performance rates of 56% and
60%, respectively.
A
spokesperson for Montreal-based Air Transat said it was not wholly responsible
for its low punctuality ranking.
"The
statistics in this report do not take into account the delays caused by factors
beyond our control such as weather and air traffic control.
"When
these factors are excluded, our punctuality rate is in fact 78%."
Icelandair
also blamed issues such as air traffic strikes as well as renovations at
Reykjavik airport for its performance.
Payouts
for unpunctuality
Passengers
who travel on delayed flights from the UK are entitled to compensation under EU
rules. But that might not apply if flights are delayed due to factors such as
extreme weather or airport strikes.
A
spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority said new measures were recently
introduced for passengers who were finding extracting compensation from
airlines difficult.
"Last year
we introduced alternative dispute resolution to the aviation industry so
passengers, who have been unable to resolve a complaint with an airline, can
get an independent decision that the airline must abide by,"
they said.
"Nearly
80% of passenger journeys from the UK are now covered by airlines who are
signed up to dispute resolution services."
EU flight delay rights
§ If your flight departed the European Union or was with a
European airline, you might have rights under EU law to claim if the delay or
cancellation was within the airline's control
§ If your flight's delayed for two or more hours the airline
must offer food and drink, access to phone calls and emails, and accommodation
if you're delayed overnight - including transfers between the airport and the
hotel
§ If you arrive more than three hours late in a journey of
less than 1,500km you are entitled to €250 in compensation from the airline
§ If you arrive more than three hours in a journey spanning
more than 1,500km, but within the EU, you can get €400 in compensation from the
carrier
§
Journeys to non-EU destinations more than 3,000km away that
arrive between three and four hours late put you in line for €300 in airline
payouts, while delays longer than four hours to these destinations are due €600
in compensation.
BBC
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