If you are planning a holiday or short break you might want to have a look at the latest airline punctuality league table before you book a flight.

The league tables, which are produced by Flightontime.info, rank airlines who fly into and out of the 10 reporting UK airports, including Gatwick, Heathrow, Glasgow, Manchester and Newcastle.

bmi Regional has topped the flight punctuality league table for the first half of 2012, with 94.5% on time and an average delay of 3.9 minutes. bmi Regional have consistently ranked number one since 2009.

The table, which has been put together using arrival and departure times recorded by the Civil Aviation Authority, shows the average delay in minutes, as well as the percentage of arrivals and departures within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.

Airline Punctuality League Table — Jan to Jun 2012

2012 Ranking by Jan-Jun average delay (ascending). Analysis includes arrivals and departures at UK reporting airports.
Data obtained from www.flightontime.info.

In the battle of the low cost airlines, Easyjet, achieved 13th place with 85.5% of flights within 15 minutes of their scheduled time, beating Ryanair who are ranked 15th with 83.5% of flights arriving or departing with 15 minutes of their scheduled time.

The average delay in minutes looks relatively low, with even the lowest ranked airline reporting an average delay of 26.7 minutes. But remember these are averages, within these times there could be lots of flights on schedule, and the odd one delayed for a very long time.

Travel insurance for flight delays

If you are unlucky enough to suffer a long flight delay your travel insurance may be able to help. The travel delay section on a travel insurance policy (included on our Gold and Platinum policies) is designed to pay a benefit to help you cover the cost of additional expenses whilst you wait at the airport.

If you are delayed by more than 12 hours, due to strike, mechanical breakdown or adverse whether you will be able to claim a fixed benefit to help you cover the cost of additional expenses, such as food and drink. You also have the option to ‘abandon’ your holiday and make a claim for the cost, up to the limit stated in the terms and conditions.

To make a claim under the travel delay section of your travel insurance policy you must have checked in for your flight at the airport and you must obtain a letter from the airline or travel company confirming the length and reason for the delay.