Flight Punctuality Drops Over Last Year

Whilst long distance trains have become more punctual, the amount of flights arriving late has increased over the last year, the Independent has reported.

Holidaymakers leaving the country from London were the worst hit, with 36 per cent of planes delayed either on arrival or departure, a 9 per cent increase from the year before. A quarter of scheduled flights were delayed on average, compared to 22 per cent the year before.

Chartered flights were the worst for punctuality, with the average delay suffered by operators increasing from 20 minutes in 2004 to 26 minutes in 2005.

Out of the most popular destinations, flight to New York (JFK), Venice, Toronto suffered average delays of 20 minutes or more. Only 68 per cent of flights to Paris from Britain were on time, compared to 73 per cent last year.

The news came after the Strategic Rail Authority announced that 86.5 per cent of Virgin trains between Manchester and London arrived on time in August. The figures showed that, overall, British trains were now running 87.5 per cent on time.

John Armitt, chief executive of Network Rail, said of the results: "We have now delivered almost two years of consistence performance improvement but our task is far from done as we continue to push for further improvements."