Passengers at Cardiff Airport had their flights delayed by more than 15 minutes in 2023.

This was revealed by a RADAR analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data, indicating an average delay of 16 minutes and 51 seconds over 3,796 departures.

The delay at Cardiff, however, was shorter than the national average.

Across the UK's 22 commercial airports which had at least 1,000 outbound flights, the average delay was 20 minutes and 43 seconds.

This figure was less than the 2022 average delay of 23 minutes and 12 seconds.

Naomi Leach, deputy editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, expressed her concern over the prevailing disruption.

She said: "It’s clear from these latest figures that millions of passengers continued to experience unacceptably long hold-ups last year.

"This cannot be allowed to become the new normal."

CAA director Tim Johnson highlighted the importance of raw data in keeping the sector accountable.

Mr Johnson said the aviation sector must focus on resilience to "keep passenger disruption to a minimum" this summer.

The importance of efficiency in the industry was also emphasised by Julia Lo Bue-Said, chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership.

Ms Lo Bue-Said said: "It’s vital for the UK’s airports alongside all parts of the travel eco-system to continually work together to ensure the system is as efficient as it can be."

Out of the UK's 14,900 cancelled flights in 2023, Cardiff Airport had 62 cancellations, making up 2 per cent of its total departures.

This prompted a response from a spokesperson of the Airport Operators Association who said: "These figures do not provide any of the context around operating in a global environment and do not give the travelling public a clear picture of how air travel operates."