The punctuality of UK flights dipped by one per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012 when compared with the corresponding period in 2011.

New figures provided by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) showed that 79 per cent of scheduled services were on time, with Birmingham Airport emerging as the most consistent aviation hub, as 85 per cent of its flights left promptly.

Despite the overall decline, the statistics indicated that the average delay was only around the 12 minute mark.

Large parts of the UK suffered from adverse weather conditions between October and November and this no doubt had an impact on the results.

"Even taking into account bad weather, the figures show there is a clear need for further efforts to improve the experience of passengers flying from UK airports," commented group director of regulatory policy at the CAA Iain Osborne.

Earlier this month, the CAA revealed that UK airports handled 221 million passengers in 2012, which was up by 0.6 per cent on 2011, but still eight per cent down on the peaks reached in 2007.