BAA claims Heathrow is one of the world''s most congested airports
Heathrow Europe''s worst airport for delays
03 July 2008Many British travellers will not be surprised to hear that London Heathrow was once again Europe''s worst airport for delays in the first quarter of 2008.
According to statistics released by the Association of European Airlines (AEA), 44 per cent of European departures from Heathrow were subject to delays of 15 minutes or more in the first three months of the year.
This is substantially higher than the 33 per cent rate of delay at Dublin, which was the second worst performer.
The first three months of 2008 represented the 16th successive quarter in which Heathrow was one of the worst five airports in Europe for delays.
Representatives of BAA have said in the past that the London hub''s consistent poor performance is due to the fact that it is operating so close to capacity and needs another runway.
Europe''s best performer in the first quarter, according to the AEA figures, was Munich airport, with 17.6 per cent of its flights delayed by 15 minutes or more.
London Gatwick was not far behind the German airport in the punctuality stakes, with 19.5 per cent of its flights failing to depart promptly.
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