Edinburgh Airport enjoys punctual flights boost

By ALASTAIR DALTON
Published on 20/03/2013 14:12

FLIGHTS at Edinburgh airport and charters from Glasgow airport achieved record punctuality last year, Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) figures showed today.

Overall, 84 per cent of scheduled flights at Edinburgh were operated within 15 minutes of time, equalling Glasgow’s record set in 2011, with average delays cut by one minute to nine minutes.

Charter flights at Glasgow achieved a record 75 per cent punctuality, while Edinburgh’s reached 71 per cent.

The CAA said 2012 was the best year on record for punctuality for scheduled flights at Edinburgh since records began in 1996 and chartered flights at Glasgow, where records started in 1991.

It also published figures showing 84 per cent of the 22,000 scheduled flights at Edinburgh were punctual between October and December, three percentage points better than a year ago. Average delays were cut from 11 to nine minutes.

The results approach Scotland’s busiest airport’s record quarterly punctuality of 86 per cent in January-March last year, when average delays reached a new low of eight minutes.

At Glasgow, the 1,000 charter flights last autumn improved their time-keeping by one percentage point to 74 per cent, with average delays cut by two minutes to 18 minutes. Punctuality among the 16,000 scheduled flights was unchanged at 84 per cent, and average delays at ten minutes. Glasgow set an 88 per cent quarterly record in January-March last year.

The CAA said performance last autumn had been helped by no air traffic control delays during the period

Edinburgh airport chief operating officer David Wilson said: “Good results at airports are very much the product of teamwork. We, as an airport team, including air traffic control, airlines and their handling agents, have been working together to improve punctuality.

“It’s great to see that this collaborative approach is improving the service to passengers and also allows us to put a compelling case together when attracting new airlines to Edinburgh.

A spokesman for Glasgow airport said: “We are extremely pleased with the latest set of figures.

“Not only do they highlight the significant progress we have made, they are the culmination of our ongoing work with our airline partners and their handling agents to continually improve overall levels of efficiency and on-time performance.”