As the great British summer getaway approaches, Birmingham airport has been revealed to be the worst for delays for the second year in a row.
The average delay at the city's airport was 30 minutes in 2022, according to PA News, which used official figures from the Civil Aviation Authority.
That was twice as long as the previous year.
In joint second place and only a minute better off than Birmingham were Doncaster Sheffield and Manchester airports, with an average delay of 29 minutes each last year. Doncaster Sheffield closed in November.
At 28 minutes of average delays, Luton ranked fourth worst for punctuality, followed by London's Gatwick airport at 27 minutes and Bristol at 26 minutes.
Across all the UK's airports, the average delay was 23 minutes, with East Midlands putting in the best punctuality figures, with an average delay of 13 minutes.
Queues of thousands
May and June were the worst months for delays at the UK's airports last year, as the sector recovered from the Covid pandemic but failed to take on and train enough staff quick enough to deal with the sudden surge in demand for overseas holidays.
As well as the flight delays, thousands of departing passengers had to queue for hours at UK airports in May and June last year, waiting to check in and pass through security.
A total of 10.3 million passengers passed through Birmingham airport last year, making it the UK's seventh busiest airport.
“The start of 2022 was devastated by Covid,” said an airport representative.
“After travel restrictions were lifted, the aviation industry fought hard to recover.
“This year, the first since 2020 not impacted by Covid, our airport is running smoothly, with customers set to equal or exceed pre-pandemic numbers.
“Customers using Birmingham airport this summer can expect changes to walking routes as we build our £40 million new security hall, set to be ready for June 2024.”
About 50 airlines use Birmingham airport, including Ryanair, Jet2, Tui, Air France and Emirates.
“Your choice of airport shouldn't make or break your trip, but for too many travellers last year that was sadly their experience,” said Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel.
“A repeat of last year's chaos cannot be allowed to stand again, and airports and airlines must ensure they're working together to ensure they can deliver their summer schedules as promised, while the government must urgently grant the CAA the powers it needs to hold the industry to account.
“With at least some level of disruption sadly probable as we head into another busy travel season, airports' delay records are something some travellers may well want to take into consideration, even if that involves travelling slightly further from home.”
With average delays of 22 minutes, London's Heathrow was the ninth worst airport in the survey.
“Our data tells us that too many passengers faced disappointing levels of delays across UK airports last year,” said Anna Bowles of the CAA.
“It is important consumers experience a high-quality service from both airlines and airports this year.
“We expect airlines to proactively provide passengers with information about their rights when flights are disrupted.”
By law, airlines must provide passengers with assistance if their flights are significantly delayed. This can mean anything from a sandwich to overnight accommodation.
If the cause of the delay is the fault of the airline, passengers can be in line for up to £520 in compensation, depending on how long they were kept waiting and how far the flight was going.
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How to help
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Saturday, May 16 (kick-offs UAE time)
Borussia Dortmund v Schalke (4.30pm)
RB Leipzig v Freiburg (4.30pm)
Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin (4.30pm)
Fortuna Dusseldorf v Paderborn (4.30pm)
Augsburg v Wolfsburg (4.30pm)
Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Monchengladbach (7.30pm)
Sunday, May 17
Cologne v Mainz (4.30pm),
Union Berlin v Bayern Munich (7pm)
Monday, May 18
Werder Bremen v Bayer Leverkusen (9.30pm)
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
Match info
Uefa Champions League Group H
Manchester United v Young Boys, Tuesday, midnight (UAE)
Oppenheimer
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Scores in brief:
Day 1
New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38
Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)
Messi at the Copa America
2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final
2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals
2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final
