Most Complained About Airlines Operating from the UK Revealed

According to data from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the top ten most complained about airlines operating from the UK have been unveiled. The list, which covers the period from mid-2024 to spring 2025, includes a mix of budget, holiday, and major carriers.

Leading the list with over 10,000 complaints is Hungarian ultra low-cost carrier Wizz Air, which operates a UK subsidiary called Wizz Air UK. This means that for every million passengers carried, over 900 complaints were received by the CAA. As almost half of these complaints were upheld, the airline was forced to pay almost £1. 5 million in compensation to passengers.

Following closely behind Wizz Air is Air France in second place with 301 complaints and Turkish Airlines in third with 265 complaints. TUI Airways UK, a popular holiday airline, came in fifth with 223 complaints, but with only 20% being upheld. However, the average compensation awarded for these complaints was one of the highest on the list.

British Airways, the next British airline on the list, came in seventh with 192 complaints, of which 83% were upheld. Ryanair, a rival of Wizz Air, was in eighth place with 188 complaints, but with only 28% being upheld. EasyJet rounded out the list in tenth place, with 147 complaints and just 18% being upheld.

In response to these findings, Wizz Air stated that it is heavily investing in improving its performance and customer experience through its Customer First Compass Initiative, which amounts to £12. 5 billion in investments. A spokesperson for the airline said, “This investment is already yielding results. In 2025, our UK flight completion rate was 99. 8%, one of the best in the industry, and our on-time performance improved by 14. 23% compared to 2024.

For those who experienced denied boarding or flight cancellations, there are certain rights to compensation. The amount of compensation depends on the length of the flight and the length of the disruption, with different amounts for short-haul, medium-haul, and long-haul flights. For example, a short-haul flight of under 1,500km that arrives two hours or more later than scheduled is entitled to a compensation of £220.

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