MANCHESTER Airport was the fifth worst UK airport for flight delays last year, an investigation has found. 

It was better news for travellers with trips planned from Liverpool Airport which was second best for punctuality performance. 

London Stansted was found to be the worst with departures from the Essex airport an average of 25 minutes late in 2018, according to Press Association analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data.

Aircraft from Manchester Airport typically took off 16 minutes late while at Liverpool the average was 10 minutes late. 

The ranking takes into account every scheduled and chartered flight from 24 major UK airports. Cancelled flights are not included.

Belfast City (George Best) recorded the best performance with a figure of just eight minutes.

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: "It's completely unacceptable for passengers to be regularly delayed by nearly half an hour.

"These delays aren't just an inconvenience but can leave holidaymakers hundreds of pounds out of pocket because of missed connections, transfers and fines for picking up their hire car late.

"While compensation is available for delays of over three hours, airlines should stop passing the buck and make it easier for their passengers by finally introducing automatic compensation."

A spokesman for London Stansted said: "Following a particularly challenging summer last year when adverse weather and air traffic control issues had a dramatic impact on airline on-time performance, Ryanair committed to a multimillion-pound investment in additional resourcing and equipment to support its ground operation at London Stansted.

"This investment has already helped deliver significant service improvements to flight punctuality."

Trade body the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said delays are caused by a "range of factors".

Last year featured a blast of cold weather due to the Beast from the East and strikes by air traffic controllers in countries such as France and Belgium.

The AOA added that disruption is also caused by the capacity of UK airspace being constrained.

The aviation industry is working with the Department for Transport to modernise the way flights are managed to improve resilience and boost capacity.

Here are the figures in full, ranked from worst to best performance.

1. London Stansted: 25 minutes

2=. London Luton: 19 minutes

2=. Birmingham: 19 minutes

4. London Gatwick: 18 minutes

5=. Manchester: 16 minutes

5=. Jersey: 16 minutes

7=. Edinburgh: 15 minutes

7=. Belfast International: 15 minutes

7=. Southend: 15 minutes

7=. Glasgow: 15 minutes

11=. Newcastle: 14 minutes

11=. Durham Tees Valley: 14 minutes

11=. Cardiff: 14 minutes

11=. Southampton: 14 minutes

15=. Aberdeen: 13 minutes

15=. Isle of Man: 13 minutes

15=. East Midlands: 13 minutes

15=. Leeds Bradford: 13 minutes

15=. London Heathrow: 13 minutes

20=. Bournemouth: 12 minutes

20=. Exeter: 12 minutes

20=. Doncaster Sheffield: 12 minutes

23. Liverpool (John Lennon): 10 minutes

24. Belfast City (George Best): Eight minutes