The worldwide survey by the air travel intelligence brand put Birmingham airport in the top five of on time performance, with 90.2% of its 106,000 flights being on time in the 12 months to October. Cardiff won 10th place, with 89.4% of its 15,000 flights leaving and arriving within 15 minutes of scheduled time.

Two Japanese airports, Tokushima and Kochi, headed the list of most punctual airports, with South African airline Safair beating all others in the airline league with 94.9% punctuality. Jet2.com managed 87.5% of its 54,190 flights being on time, earning it 10th place.

OAG surveyed data from 489 airports and 135 airlines. John Grant, OAG senior analyst said: “Jet2.com has shown to have a robust on-time performance during some of the busiest travelling months of the year, although there are clearly improvements that UK airlines can make to their punctuality performance over the next six months.”

The now defunct Monarch Airlines managed a four-star rating, but British Airways, Virgin Atlantic and easyJet only three stars.

Among UK airports, Liverpool was the only one apart from Birmingham to receive five stars, with an 86.7% score. Norwich and Kirkwall were rated four-star and Belfast’s two airports three star. Heathrow managed only two stars, with 75.2% punctuality, as did Edinburgh, with 69.2%. Bottom of the league were Manchester, with 63% and Gatwick, with 61.9%; both being given only one star.

Grant added, however, that the overall picture was still one of achievement: “With the aviation industry going through a turbulent time, there is a lot for the UK airports to be proud of in terms of the speed at which they’re able to get flights on and off the ground. The key for the next 12 months is consistency, as we’ll inevitably see the number of flights in and out of the UK increasing.”