Tui has been ranked amongst the worst airlines for flight punctuality in the UK, with one particular route recording an average delay of more than three-quarters of an hour.
The leisure carrier's departures from UK airports ran an average of 20 minutes and 24 seconds behind schedule in 2025, according to an analysis of Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) data carried out by the Press Association.
The least punctual of its routes operating at least 100 flights was the Birmingham to Greek island of Zante service, which suffered an average delay of 46 minutes.
Tui Airways is owned by Tui Group, which also operates the UK's second largest package holiday company. Many of its holiday customers use the airline, which serves more than 20 UK airports.
The punctuality study took into consideration all scheduled and chartered departures from UK airports across the 34 airlines that operated more than 2,500 such flights last year. Cancelled flights were excluded from the findings.
Aage Dunhaupt, Tui Group's director of communications, said: "We fully understand that for holidaymakers, every minute counts. Minimising delays remains a top priority, and our teams work continuously to improve operational performance across our network."
Mr Dunhaupt said the airline makes "a conscious choice" to operate flights "wherever possible, even if they are delayed, rather than cancelling them", as this ensures passengers reach their destination "rather than facing the risk of extended disruption".
He added: "If we were to follow broader industry practices of cancelling flights more readily, our punctuality ranking would improve significantly. However, this would come at the expense of our customers."
Tui was placed fifth in the rankings for the worst airlines for punctuality.
Air India recorded the poorest performance for the second consecutive year, with an average delay of 36 minutes and 36 seconds.
Of the major airlines operating in the UK, Jet2, Wizz Air and Ryanair had very similar results. They came in at 13th, 14th and 15th place respectively.
The average delay across all airlines included in the analysis stood at 14 minutes and 48 seconds, a notable improvement from 18 minutes and 18 seconds in 2024. Flight delays occur for numerous reasons, including circumstances both within and outside airlines' control.
CAA director Tim Johnson said long hold-ups "can cause significant disruption and inconvenience for passengers".
He added: "We recognise the impact this can have, which is why there are rules in place to protect passengers. Airlines are expected to minimise the impact of delays where possible, by providing timely information and upholding passengers' rights during disruption."
Based on the route distance and duration of delay, passengers with bookings on flights departing from the UK that are running late are entitled to support, including a reasonable amount of food and drink, access to communication and overnight accommodation where necessary.
Travellers may also be eligible to claim compensation of up to £520 from the carrier if the cause of the delay is considered within its control, such as a technical fault with the aircraft or pilot illness.
A spokesperson for Airlines UK, a trade body representing UK-registered carriers, said: "The vast majority of UK airline flights depart on time and CAA data shows customer satisfaction levels are at an all-time high.
"Most delays are the result of issues that are entirely outside airline control, such as adverse weather, forced reductions in the number of planes that are able to land and take off each hour, and industrial action.When these delays do occur, airlines work hard to support customers and get them where they need to be as quickly as possible."
1. Air India (36 minutes and 36 seconds)
2. Blue Islands (25 minutes and 12 seconds)
3. TAP Air Portugal (23 minutes)
4. Saudia (21 minutes and 18 seconds)
5. Tui Airways (20 minutes and 24 seconds)
6. SunExpress (20 minutes and 12 seconds)
7. Aurigny (19 minutes and 36 seconds)
8. Pegasus Airlines (18 minutes and 36 seconds)
9. Swiss (17 minutes and 54 seconds)
10. KLM (17 minutes and 48 seconds)
11. Air France (17 minutes)
12. Vueling (16 minutes and 54 seconds)
13. Jet2.com (16 minutes and 36 seconds)
14. Wizz Air (16 minutes and 12 seconds)
15. Ryanair (15 minutes and 48 seconds)
16. Aer Lingus (15 minutes and 30 seconds)
17. Qatar (14 minutes and 54 seconds)
18. American Airlines (14 minutes and 42 seconds)
19. Eurowings (14 minutes and 36 seconds)
=19. Delta Airlines (14 minutes and 36 seconds)
20. Emerald Airlines (13 minutes and 54 seconds)
=20. United Airlines (13 minutes and 54 seconds)
21. EasyJet (13 minutes and 48 seconds)
22. Turkish Airlines (13 minutes and 24 seconds)
23. Lufthansa (13 minutes and 12 seconds)
24. Emirates (13 minutes and six seconds)
25. British Airways (12 minutes and 36 seconds)
26. Finnair (12 minutes and 18 seconds)
=26. Loganair (12 minutes and 18 seconds)
27. Norwegian (11 minutes and 48 seconds)
28. Iberia (11 minutes and 36 seconds)
=28. Air Canada (11 minutes and 36 seconds)
29. Virgin Atlantic (11 minutes)
30. Scandinavian Airlines (eight minutes)
