Thomas Cook named worst airline in world in 2019 rankings - here’s the full list
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The research, conducted by air passenger rights organisation AirHelp, marks bad news for British travellers, with some of the UK's biggest airlines falling way down the rankings.
UK airline rankings
The research assessed 72 global airline carriers and found Thomas Cook ranked as the worst in the world, dropping down 21 places compared to last year.
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Hide AdEasyJet didn't fare much better in 71st place, with Ryanair also among the bottom rankings as the fifth worst performing in the world.
The best ranked among UK carriers was budget airline Flybe, which came in at 11th place, followed by Virgin Atlantic in 15th.
British Airways also ranked quite highly in 23rd place, while Jet2.com took 54th.
How were airlines assessed?
To produce the rankings, AirHelp analysed key performance indicators from 2018, including how often flights were on-time, along with quality of service and the speed of processing claims in the event of delays or cancellations.
Henrik Zillmer, CEO and co-founder of AirHelp, said: "The AirHelp Score 2019 must serve as a wake-up call to the UK's aviation industry, which is continually failing those that matter the most - the passengers.
"It's crystal clear that more needs to be done to adapt to ever-changing demands, whether it's airports adding and extending runways to cope with the influx, to airlines focusing on the industry-wide lack of pilots and often poor cabin-crew conditions.
"Action is needed and it is needed now to ensure passengers are not the innocent casualties of the UK's floundering aviation industry."
The best airlines in the world 2019
1. Qatar Airways
2. American Airlines
3. Aeromexico
4. SAS Scandinavian Airlines
5. Qantas
6. LATAM Airlines
7. WestJet
8. Luxair
9. Austrian Airlines
10. Emirates
11. Flybe
12. KLM Royal Dutch Airlines
13. Singapore Airlines
14. Garuda Indonesia
15. Virgin Atlantic
16. United Airlines
17. Delta Air Lines
18. Turkish Airlines
19. Air France
20. LOT Polish Airlines
21. Brussels Airlines
22. Wizz Air
23. British Airways
24. Lufthansa
25. Oman Air
26. Etihad Airways
27. China Southern Airlines
28. Kenya Airways
29. Azul Airlines
30. El Al Israel Airlines
31. Olympic Air
32. Aeroflot
33. Pegasus Airlines
34. Icelandair
35. Iberia
36. Swiss International Air Lines
37. Air India
38. Croatia Airlines
39. Air Canada
40. Air China
41. airBaltic
42. Air Europa
43. Thai Airways International
44. Air Transat
45. Eurowings
46. Ethiopian Airlines
47. Aer Lingus
48. Aegean Airlines
49. Saudia
50. Air Dolomiti
51. Air Malta
52. Finnair
53. Avianca
54. Jet2.com
55. Tarom
56. Asiana Airlines
57. China Eastern Airlines
58. Gol Intelligent Airlines
59. Czech Airlines
60. Air Mauritius
61. TAP Air Portugal
62. Vueling Airlines
63. Adria Airways
64. Aerolineas Argentinas
65. Transavia
66. Laudamotion
67. Norwegian
68. Ryanair
69. Korean Air
70. Kuwait Airways
71. easyJet
72. Thomas Cook Airlines
UK airport rankings
AirHelp also assessed the best and worst airports in the world, with the UK again faring badly as several of the country's airports fell into the bottom half of the list.
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Hide AdBristol Airport was rated as the best performing in the UK, taking 70th place out of a total of 132.
London Heathrow Airport came in second, ranked in 73rd place, followed by Birmingham Airport (78th) and Dublin Airport (81st).
Hamad International Airport in Qatar was named as the best airport in the world.
UK airport rankings 2019 (out of 132)
1. Bristol Airport - 70th place
2. London Heathrow Airport - 73rd place
3. Birmingham Airport - 78th place
4. Dublin Airport - 81st place
5. London City Airport - 104th place
6. London Stanstead Airport - 109th place
7. Edinburgh Airport - 122nd place
8. London Gatwick Airport - 123rd place
9. Manchester Airport - 127th place