figures from the Civil Aviation Authority have revealed that delays to charter flights increased sharply at the beginning of the summer season.
The increase in charter flight delays at both Gatwick and Manchester from 49%, at the beginning of summer 1998, to 55% and 54% respectively in the same quarter this year was blamed on air-traffic control problems.
Worst affected charter destinations were Corfu, Alicante and Palma.
The worst scheduled cities for delays included Zurich, Rome and Athens.
Predicted growth at BAA’s airports is expected to put even more pressure on time performance.
The airport owner said annual traffic is set to rise by 40m people to 137m by 2009/10.