Bristol airport has topped global flight punctuality league tables, with an on-time performance rating of 94.6%.
Leading global aviation intelligence provider OAG based the league tables on 43.5 million flight records from 4,000 airports worldwide.
The report covers the 2014 calendar year and is based on the proportion of flights arriving and departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
The international average on time take-off and departure rate for airports covered by OAG is 79.95%.
Bristol’s figure compared with 60.1% of flights at Gatwick and 75.5% at Heathrow – although both London-area airports handle many more flights.
Luton was the second most punctual UK airport after Bristol followed by Birmingham, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Heathrow, Manchester, Stansted and Gatwick.
Of UK-based airlines, easyJet was the least likely to be late with 87.7% of flights in time, followed by Monarch at 86.9%, then Jet2.com at 84.7%, Virgin Atlantic at 81.1% and British Airways at 77.3%.
The international average for all airlines covered by OAG was 77.98%.
Bristol airport chief executive Robert Sinclair said: “This achievement is a joint effort and is testament to the collaborative approach taken by airlines, ground handlers and our own team.
“It demonstrates the advantages offered by regional airports such as Bristol, where airlines operate in uncongested airspace with greater flexibility and resilience in the event of any disruption.
“It also shows the clear benefits of our continued investment in infrastructure over the last decade or more, from the installation of a CATIII all-weather landing system to the construction of new boarding facilities such as the central walkway which opened last summer.”