Air Transat, Icelandair and Norwegian have been named the worst airlines for punctuality in the UK, research from consumer watchdog Which? has found.
After analysing data on more than 850,000 inbound flights across 35 airlines at 25 UK airports, the research showed that an average of 74 per cent of flights arrived on time to their destination.
KLM topped the list with 88 per cent of flights arriving on time, followed by Qatar (86%) and Iberia (84%).
Just 55 per cent of Air Transat’s inbound flights arrived within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time, ahead of Icelandair (56%) and Norwegian (60%).
A spokesperson for Montreal-based Air Transat responded to the report stating factors out of its control were partly responsible.
"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.
Passengers who travel on delayed flights are potentially in line for compensation under the current EU Denied Boarding Regulation. However, where flights are delayed due to factors such as extreme weather or airport strikes, they’re unlikely to get compensation.
Which? is calling for the next government to introduce a system to replace the current compensation scheme as well as a Transport Ombudsman that all airlines must join.
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