It’s official – Jersey is the worst Airport in Britain for delays

Thursday 04 June 2015

Jersey is top of the charts for flight delays after new data showed we have not just the most delayed flights in Britain, but also the longest delays.

Figures for March published by the UK Civil Aviation Authority – which are now including Jersey for the first time – show that 23% of flights were delayed, with an average delay of 16 minutes.

And the picture appears to be a consistent one, with data for the end of 2014 showing that we were at or near the bottom of the charts of 24 British airports.

The data shows that from October to December 2014, 24% of flights were delayed (2^nd worst of 24) with an average 16 minute delay (the worst of all 24 airports).

It also shows that the number of delays was up 3% on the same period in the previous year, while the length of the average delay was up by two minutes.

Robert Mackenzie, the Managing Director of CI Travel Group, said that the results did not make pleasant reading – but he emphasised that the delays were not necessarily down to the Airport, but were down to the airlines.

“At the end of the day it’s not good if Jersey starts to develop a reputation for this,” he said.

“If it’s consistently among the worst in the UK, then it starts to develop a reputation that’s bad for tourism, let alone for locals.

“Clearly, any delay is frustrating to travellers but you can’t necessarily blame the Airport – it’s the airlines that operate the aircraft, and there will be all sorts of reasons why flights are delayed.

“It’s disappointing from a tourism perspective, and obviously we hope that it shows an improvement.

“What’s important here is if the national media starts to pick up on it and someone starts to run a story about the worst airports for delays, and we are consistently on the list, it could be potentially damaging.”