These Airlines Suffered the Worst UK Flight Delays in 2025

UK travellers endured another year of patchy punctuality in 2025, with fresh analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data showing that several major airlines serving British airports recorded significantly longer average delays than before the pandemic.

TUI and Wizz Air under scrutiny for persistent delays

Among airlines operating large numbers of leisure routes from the UK, package holiday carrier TUI Airways emerged as one of the worst performers for punctuality in 2025. Consumer-group analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data for the period from May 2024 to April 2025 indicates that TUI flights departing UK airports were late far more often than in 2019, with average delays stretching well beyond the 15‑minute window usually used to classify services as on time.

Low cost operator Wizz Air also continued to feature prominently in league tables of poor timekeeping. Industry summaries drawing on the latest CAA statistics put the airline’s average delay on UK departures at more than half an hour per flight, one of the highest figures among carriers with substantial operations in the country. Although Wizz Air has focused on network growth and new routes, its punctuality record has remained a focus of criticism from passenger advocates.

These findings build on a pattern seen in earlier years, when both airlines were repeatedly flagged in punctuality studies as having some of the longest delays out of UK airports. The 2025 data suggest that schedule reliability remains a significant issue for travellers booking with these carriers, particularly on busy holiday routes that are vulnerable to knock‑on disruption.

Blue Islands and regional operators hit by severe schedule problems

Away from the largest brands, smaller regional airlines also struggled. The CAA’s Aviation Trends reporting for 2025 highlighted Channel Islands carrier Blue Islands as having some of the worst on time performance for any airline operating in UK airspace during the second quarter of the year. The airline recorded both high cancellation rates and lengthy delays on completed flights over that period.

Publicly available information attributes these problems in part to operational and supply chain pressures, including late aircraft deliveries and maintenance bottlenecks that left little spare capacity when things went wrong. With relatively small fleets, regional carriers such as Blue Islands have fewer options for swapping aircraft or crews when a disruption occurs, which can quickly magnify individual issues into extended delays for passengers.

The difficulties faced by Blue Islands in 2025 echoed broader strain on the UK’s regional aviation sector, where rising costs and thin margins have combined with infrastructure bottlenecks to create fragile schedules. For travellers connecting through smaller airports, that has meant a higher risk of missed onward flights and last‑minute itinerary changes.

Major UK airlines see punctuality fall behind pre‑pandemic levels

While some of the starkest figures involved smaller or leisure‑focused airlines, the data for 2025 also show that the UK’s biggest home carriers have not returned to pre‑pandemic standards. Analysis of CAA records covering British Airways, easyJet, Jet2, Ryanair, TUI and Wizz Air between May 2024 and April 2025 found that all six recorded worse punctuality than in 2019.

For passengers, this means that even when booking with well‑known network or low cost airlines, the likelihood of a flight arriving later than scheduled remained elevated. Industry commentary points to a combination of factors, including congested airspace, limited spare aircraft, and staffing constraints across airlines, air traffic control and ground handling providers.

British Airways and easyJet, which together account for a substantial share of UK short‑haul and European traffic, continued to operate the vast majority of their schedules. However, the percentage of flights arriving within 15 minutes of timetable was lower than before the pandemic, underlining how system‑wide pressures are still feeding into longer waits at gates and baggage carousels.

Airports and air traffic control add to delay pressures

The 2025 airline rankings cannot be separated from the performance of the airports and air traffic management systems that support them. CAA and independent analyses show that Gatwick again recorded some of the longest average departure delays of any major UK airport, with flights typically leaving more than 20 minutes late in 2024 and ongoing challenges reported into 2025.

Reports attribute a substantial share of these delays to air traffic control staffing and capacity constraints, both locally and in wider European airspace. When restrictions are imposed on the number of aircraft that can depart or arrive per hour, airlines serving affected airports often face knock‑on delays across their networks, a problem that tends to hit carriers with tightly packed schedules particularly hard.

Weather‑related disruption also played a visible role during the peak winter months of 2025, with storms and strong winds forcing ground stops and diversions at several UK airports. Although these events are classified separately from airline‑caused delays in official statistics, they contribute to the overall experience of unreliability that many travellers faced when flying to and from the UK.

What rising delays mean for UK passengers in 2025

For UK‑based travellers, the headline story from 2025 is that flying remained less predictable than before the pandemic, and that a handful of airlines stood out for particularly poor punctuality. Carriers such as TUI, Wizz Air and Blue Islands recorded some of the longest average delays, while even major operators like British Airways and easyJet did not match their earlier performance on on‑time arrivals.

Consumer advocates note that under UK261 rules, passengers whose flights arrive three hours or more late may be entitled to financial compensation if the disruption is within the airline’s control. However, compensation processes can be lengthy, and the regulations do not address the inconvenience of shorter, more routine delays that still disrupt plans and connections.

As the busy summer season of 2026 approaches, published commentary suggests that airlines, airports and regulators are under pressure to improve resilience and restore confidence in schedules. For now, travellers seeking to reduce their risk of disruption are being advised to allow generous connection times, avoid last departures of the day where possible, and pay close attention to the recent punctuality record of the airlines they choose.