Aer Lingus among best performing Irish and British airlines

Aer Lingus was among the best performing Irish and British airlines in June and July, according to consumer company AirHelp.

The company said more than two out of three of the Irish carrier’s flights arrived on time during those months, while most delays that did occur were of less than 15 minutes.

Aer Lingus ranked second of airlines surveyed by the company that had scheduled at least 2,000 flights through those months.

The Irish flag carrier “ranks second with 5,700 – 69 per cent – of the 8,200 recorded flights arriving on time, benefiting over 719,000 Irish passengers,” said AirHelp.

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Virgin Atlantic was number one, with three out of four flights arriving on time, while Jet2 came in third with 64 per cent of its trips on schedule.

Aer Lingus did not comment on the findings, but noted that the figures were broadly correct.

Covid outbreaks among staff forced Aer Lingus to cancel flights last summer, while the airline also suffered disruption caused by general problems across European and North American air transport networks. The Irish airline recently confirmed that it has restored pre-Covid capacity while it maintains that fares are in line with last year.

Meanwhile, Knock airport said on Wednesday that travel review website Airlinequality.com ranked it number one in Ireland for handling security queues. The survey, based on passenger reviews, found the Irish gateway was sixth best in Europe overall.

The news came as Knock confirmed that it set a new record in July, handling 91,261 passengers during the month. Passenger numbers were 5 per cent up on the same month last year and 1 per cent higher than its previous busiest July, which was in 2014.

Joe Gilmore, Ireland West Airport Knock managing director, said the company was “thrilled to gain international recognition for the efficiency and ease of the passenger journey through the airport”.