This is how long an average flight is delayed at Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley airports

The average flight delay from UK airports last year was 16 minutes.

Passengers travelling from Newcastle and Durham Tees Valley experienced average delays of 14 minutes last year.

That's better than the UK average of 16 minutes, according to Press Association analysis of Civil Aviation Authority data.

London Stansted was the worst UK airport for flight delays last year, an investigation has found.

Departures from the Essex airport were an average of 25 minutes late in 2018, a figure described by a consumer group as "completely unacceptable".

London Stansted is the fourth busiest airport in the UK. It is a hub for a number of low-cost eastern European airlines as well as being the largest base for Ryanair.

Birmingham and London Luton recorded the joint-second-worst punctuality performance, with aircraft typically taking off 19 minutes behind schedule.

Which? Travel said delayed flights can leave holidaymakers hundreds of pounds out of pocket because of missed connections, transfers and fines for picking up hire cars late.

The ranking takes into account every scheduled and chartered flight from 24 major UK airports. Cancelled flights are not included.

Belfast City (George Best) recorded the best performance, with an average delay of just eight minutes.

Liverpool (John Lennon) was in second place (10 minutes), followed by Doncaster Sheffield, Exeter and Bournemouth (12 minutes).

Passengers travelling from Newcastle Airport experienced average delays of 14 minutes last year.

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: "It's completely unacceptable for passengers to be regularly delayed by nearly half an hour.

"These delays aren't just an inconvenience, but can leave holidaymakers hundreds of pounds out of pocket because of missed connections, transfers and fines for picking up their hire car late.

"While compensation is available for delays of over three hours, airlines should stop passing the buck and make it easier for their passengers by finally introducing automatic compensation."

Trade body the Airport Operators Association (AOA) said delays are caused by a "range of factors".

Last year featured a blast of cold weather due to the Beast from the East and strikes by air traffic controllers in countries such as France and Belgium.

The AOA added that disruption is also caused by the capacity of UK airspace being constrained.

The aviation industry is working with the Department for Transport to modernise the way flights are managed to improve resilience and boost capacity.

The Press Association analysed Civil Aviation Authority data to calculate the average delay for every scheduled and chartered flight departing from 24 major UK airports in 2018.

Here are the figures in full, ranked from worst to best performance.

1. London Stansted: 25 minutes

2= London Luton: 19 minutes

2= Birmingham: 19 minutes

4. London Gatwick: 18 minutes

5= Manchester: 16 minutes

5= Jersey: 16 minutes

7= Edinburgh: 15 minutes

7= Belfast International: 15 minutes

7= Southend: 15 minutes

7= Glasgow: 15 minutes

11= Newcastle: 14 minutes

11= Durham Tees Valley: 14 minutes

11= Cardiff: 14 minutes

11= Southampton: 14 minutes

15= Aberdeen: 13 minutes

15= Isle of Man: 13 minutes

15= East Midlands: 13 minutes

15= Leeds Bradford: 13 minutes

15= London Heathrow: 13 minutes

20= Bournemouth: 12 minutes

20= Exeter: 12 minutes

20= Doncaster Sheffield: 12 minutes

23. Liverpool (John Lennon): 10 minutes

24. Belfast City (George Best): Eight minutes