Aviation experts at AirAdvisor reviewed Civil Aviation Authority figures from January to September and found that just 57.5 per cent of TUI flights departed on schedule. Under CAA guidelines, a flight is considered on time if it arrives or departs within 15 minutes of its scheduled gate time.
The findings place TUI at the bottom of the reliability table among the 20 airlines carrying the highest passenger volumes at UK airports. The carrier’s performance was worse than several competitors, including Blue Airlines, which has since ceased operations, and Swiss Airlines, which recorded an on-time rate of around 64 per cent.
At the opposite end of the scale, Virgin Atlantic and Loganair jointly topped the rankings, with 81 per cent of flights departing on time across the same reporting period. The overall average punctuality rate for all airlines included in the analysis stood at 72 per cent.
AirAdvisor said its research focused on real-world performance during the busiest months of the travel calendar, including the peak summer period. TUI’s weakest results were recorded during the third quarter, which includes July and August, traditionally the busiest time for leisure travel.
Anton Radchenko, CEO of AirAdvisor, said: "Many factors contribute to an airline's on-time performance, not all of them within an airline's control, but past performance remains a key indicator of a carrier's future ability to keep flights on schedule.
"TUI's on-time performance in quarter three, which includes the months of July and August, is traditionally poor - this is unfortunate given how many people go on holiday at this time of year.
"In fact, CAA data suggests that in quarter three of 2024 and 2023, less than half of TUI services in the UK were on time.
"While that figure increased to 55 per cent in quarter three of 2025, it's still significantly lower than Virgin Atlantic and Loganair's 82 and 78 per cent respectively, in the same period."
Despite the poor showing for some carriers, Radchenko said the wider picture for UK aviation is improving.
He said: "British consumers should be relieved to hear that, in the most part, flight delays and cancellations are falling, and 2025 has been something of a turning point year for the aviation industry, with disruptions finally decreasing to close to pre-COVID levels."
However, he added that millions of passengers are still affected by delays and cancellations each year, with some eligible for compensation of up to £520 under UK261 regulations, depending on the circumstances of the disruption.
