Major holiday airlines managed to reduce their delays last summer.
Big carriers such as Air 2000, Thomas Cook, Britannia and Monarch all performed better in summer 2003 than in summer 2002, the Air Transport Users Council reported.
Overall, the average delay to charter airline flights into and out of major UK airports in April-October 2003 was 19.7 minutes, compared with 23.7 minutes in the same period of 2002.
The percentage of flights more than an hour late also dipped - from 10% in summer 2002 to 7.8% last summer. Spain's Air Europa airline was the best performer last year, with only 2.4% of its flights more than an hour late and with an average delay of just 9.9 minutes.
The best UK carrier was Air 2000, with only 4.6% of flights more than one hour late. The poorest performer was British Airways CitiExpress, with 22% of flights more than one hour late and average delays of 42.5 minutes.
The figures related to flights in and out of Birmingham, Edinburgh, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle and Stansted airports.
Air Transport Users Council chairman Tina Tietjen said: "For the third year in a row there has been a significant decrease in both the overall percentage of flights arriving more than an hour late and the overall average length of delay for charter carriers operating from the UK."
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