Increasing delays have knocked Flying Colours Airlines off the top spot for on-time performance in the latest flight punctuality figures for charter airlines.
The Air Transport Users Council figures show the Thomas Cook-owned carrier dropped from first in last year’s report to 11th place in the new league table, with 18.2% of its flights delayed more than an hour. Last year the figure was 5%.
Flying Colours managing director Terry Soult defended the delays saying they were due to the late delivery of new aircraft in the first two months of last summer.
He said: “However, while it is disappointing to have slipped from our number-one position, from the July period onwards our punctuality performance was consistently the best.”
The AUC said it expects Flying Colours to improve since its merger with Caledonian under the JMC banner.
Britannia Airways was the most punctual charter airline last year with only 14% of flights over one hour late – a reduction from 19% in 1998.
Airtours International had a disappointing showing with 28.2% of its flights being delayed, up from 21% last year.
AUC chairman Ian Hamer said:”One in four Airtours flights was over an hour late and its average delay was approaching an hour.”
The group said statistics show airlines are largely in control of delays and half of obstacles to flights in Europe are caused by air-traffic control.
By publishing the tables, AUC hopes airlines will make more of an effort to minimise delays.