Flight departure delays at Dublin second highest in European survey

Dublin Airport has the second highest average delay in European flight departures out of 27 airports surveyed by the Association…

Dublin Airport has the second highest average delay in European flight departures out of 27 airports surveyed by the Association of European Airlines.

The figures, which are part of a quarterly report in which 20 airlines detail their performances at each of the airports surveyed by the AEA, show that Dublin had an average delay of 45.1 minutes on European flights in April, May and June, an increase of three minutes on the average for the first three months of this year. Larnaca in Cyprus had the highest average delay in departures at 61.4 minutes.

The figures for the second quarter of this year place Dublin Airport in joint 18th place out of 27 airports surveyed on European flight delays.

In all, 22.2 per cent of the surveyed airlines' flights departing from Dublin were delayed by more than 15 minutes. This compares to Milan's Malpensa Airport - which headed the table - at which almost half of all departures were delayed.

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More than a quarter of arrivals into Dublin were delayed by more than 15 minutes, with the average delay amounting to almost 50 minutes. This figure is also up on the first quarter, during which the average arrivals delay was 43 minutes.

Adria Airways, Aer Lingus, Air France, Air Malta, Alitalia, British Airways, CSA, Finnair, Iberia, Lufthansa, Malev, Sabena and SAS were all surveyed on delays at Dublin Airport. Iberia had the highest rate of delayed departures at 60.4 per cent. SAS had the lowest rate, with just 16.6 per cent of its departures being delayed. Adria had the longest delays in departures from Dublin - 70.5 minutes - while Malev had the shortest departure delays (34 minutes).

Iberia had the highest percentage (57.1) of delayed arrivals and Air Malta the lowest (16.7 per cent). Air Malta's average arrivals delay (25 minutes) was also the lowest. British Airways' average arrivals delay was six times that at 155 minutes.

Aer Lingus was the only Irish airline surveyed and was reported to have an average delay of 45 minutes for both arrivals and departures. The survey found that 20 per cent of Aer Lingus departures were delayed, as were one-quarter of their arrivals - a 7 per cent increase on the first quarter.

According to the AEA, airlines participate in this survey because it provides them with an opportunity to demonstrate to their customers the difficulties they face in trying to maintain their schedules, particularly given the level of air traffic control delays across Europe.

According to the second quarter survey, 10.1 per cent of all European flights to and from Dublin were delayed due to airport and air traffic control restrictions, an increase of 4 per cent on the first quarter.

A spokeswoman for Aer Rianta said that it was not responsible for the flight delays since air traffic control was not its function.

A spokeswoman for the Irish Aviation Authority put the proportion of Irish flights delayed by air traffic control at 10 per cent, but said that only a small proportion of these delays was the responsibility of air traffic control at Dublin.

According to the IAA figures, .0037 per cent of flights in and out of Dublin in the first half of this year were delayed by air traffic control restrictions at Dublin Airport.