These Are The UK Airports Where You'll Face The Longest Delays

Nothing kills your summer holiday buzz like a flight delay. In your mind, you're already lying on a sun lounger sipping a frozen daiquiri, or sampling the wine at a hard-to-find Italian trattoria. But in reality, you're stuck in a packed airport lounge nursing the dregs of a Costa latte.

But now, you can at least make an informed decision next time you book a flight. New research by the BBC Data Unit has found that Gatwick is the worst UK airport for delays. On average, passengers flying to or from the London airport arrived or departed 27 minutes late. Luton airport placed second, with passengers experiencing an average delay of 24 minutes, followed by Jersey airport, where the average delay was 21 minutes.

Below, check out the 10 UK airports with the longest average delays.

Responding to the research, a Gatwick spokesperson told the BBC: "We recognise the inconvenience that delays cause to our passengers, and we will continue to do everything possible to prevent them from occurring. Gatwick has made it a priority to address punctuality and, in partnership with our airlines and ground handlers, we are already seeing the benefits of a new wide range of measures that have been implemented to improve punctuality."

The BBC Data Unit also calculated the average delays experienced by passengers flying on the UK and Ireland's 10 biggest airlines. easyJet were found to be the least punctual airline, with flights arriving an average 24 minutes behind schedule, followed by Thomas Cook (19 minutes) and British Airways (18 minutes).

Aer Lingus performed best, with an average delay of just 12 minutes. Right behind were Flybe (13 minutes), then Ryanair and Monarch (both 15 minutes).