Airport agony: Hong Kong carriers among world's worst for delayed departures

Air traffic control delays on the mainland mean Hong Kong and mainland airlines are among the world's worst for on-time departures, as the number of affected flights has soared.

A Sunday Morning Post study of aviation data from travel industry monitor FlightStats ranks Hong Kong Airlines and Dragonair among the poorest performers based on flights departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled departure time, which is considered on time. Both airlines are heavily reliant on flights to the mainland.

Of the data on 106 major airlines, Xiamen Airlines is bottom of the league with an average of 36 per cent of on-time flights in the last 12 months.

Hong Kong Airlines ranked 100th with 47 per cent of departures leaving on schedule, followed by Dragonair at 95th with 54 per cent. From 95 to 106 in the punctuality table there is only one non-Chinese airline.

Air traffic restrictions are frequent on the mainland, where only 20 per cent of airspace is available for civil aviation. The rest is controlled by the military.

Civil Aviation Department statistics show 2,518 flights from Hong Kong, or 13 a day, between January and June suffered delays as a result of mainland air traffic control restrictions. Last year, eight flights a day, or 3,249 for the year, were affected. The figures suggest air traffic management delays are rising, following 2,639 delays in 2012 and 2,937 in 2013.