Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have teamed up to highlight the most, and least, punctual airlines, as well as a league table showing typical delays travellers can expect at the main UK airports.

The research found that passengers travelling from London City airport are likely to be delayed for the least amount of time, with average delays of only six minutes on flights to all destinations. Despite London Heathrow being one of the busiest airports in the world, travellers are only likely to be delayed an average of 13 minutes compared to London Gatwick and Manchester, which were found to be bottom of the table with an average delay of 15 minutes.

Findings also identified the best and worst airlines for timekeeping with KLM, bmibaby, Etihad Airways and Air France found to be amongst the most punctual airlines with average delays of fewer than 10 minutes. However, passengers who book with Thomas Cook Airlines Ltd, Virgin Atlantic or Qantas, should be prepared for average delays between 19 and 28 minutes.

Nick Caunter, managing director of Airport Parking and Hotels (APH) says: “Many people may be pleased to know that the range of average delays for airports and airlines is perhaps not as large as they may have expected. Of course, the averages will be made up of plenty of on time flights but some much longer delays and the punctuality performance could be a good indicator of which is more likely to cause travel delays. For those travellers wanting to plan ahead, publishing the highlights of the CAA research in our Know Before You Go section will be a useful guide.”

Airport Parking and Hotels Ltd is one of the UK’s leading booking agencies and this year celebrates its 30th year as a retailer and operator of pre-booked airport parking and travel extras. APH offers parking at all major UK airports, ports and Eurotunnel terminals plus airport hotels packaged with parking and airport lounges. APH is also a carbon balanced company and has, through the World Land Trust, helped purchase more than 1,000 acres of endangered rainforest.