New research has identified the UK's most unreliable airline for 2025, with the dubious honour going to holiday giant TUI. An analysis of official Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data reveals that less than 60 per cent of the carrier's flights departed on schedule during the monitored period.
The Punctuality League Table: Winners and Losers
Aviation experts at AirAdvisor scrutinised CAA figures from January to September 2025 to compile a league table of airline reliability. The study focused on the 20 airlines handling the most passengers at UK airports.
TUI was found to have the poorest average performance, with just 57.5 per cent of its flights departing on time. This means more than four in ten of its services were delayed. The now-defunct Blue Islands came a close second for tardiness, with an on-time performance of 59.5 per cent, followed by Swiss Airlines at 64 per cent.
At the other end of the scale, Virgin Atlantic and Loganair jointly claimed the crown for punctuality, with an impressive 81 per cent of their flights leaving on schedule in 2025. The combined average on-time performance for all carriers during the reporting window was 72 per cent.
What Counts as 'On Time' and Why Delays Happen
Under CAA guidelines, a flight is classified as "on-time" if it arrives at or departs from the airport gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled time. The authority routinely gathers these statistics from the largest UK airlines.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, commented on the findings. "Many factors contribute to an airline's on-time performance, not all of them within an airline's control," he said. "But past performance remains a key indicator of a carrier's future ability to keep flights on schedule."
He highlighted that TUI's performance in the busy third quarter, encompassing July and August, has been traditionally poor. CAA data suggests that in Q3 of both 2024 and 2023, less than half of TUI's UK services were on time. While this improved to 55 per cent in Q3 2025, it remained significantly behind rivals.
A Turning Point for Aviation and Passenger Rights
There is some positive news for travellers amidst the delay data. Radchenko noted that flight disruptions in 2025 finally decreased to close to pre-COVID levels, marking a turning point for the industry after years of widespread cancellations and delays.
However, millions of passengers still face disruptions each year. The report reminds travellers that under UK regulation UK261, they may be entitled to up to £520 in compensation if their flight is delayed or cancelled, depending on the cause of the disruption and the notice given by the airline.
The full ranking of airlines by average punctuality from January to September 2025 is as follows:
- TUI – 57.5% of flights on time.
- Blue Islands – 59.5%.
- Swiss Airlines – 64%.
- KLM and Jet2 – 69%.
- Ryanair – 70%.
- Air France – 71%.
- easyJet – 72%.
- American Airlines and Vueling – 74%.
- Eurowings and Aer Lingus – 75%.
- British Airways, Wizz Air, Emerald Airlines, Lufthansa and United Airlines – 76%.
- Emirates – 78%.
- Loganair and Virgin Atlantic – 81%.
