UK261 £Which airlines draw the most complaints in the UK? CAA data, April 2025 to March 2026

Checked 15 Sep 2026·8 min read

629 complaints per million passengers is Wizz Air’s rate for the year the UK Civil Aviation Authority calls FY26, the highest of the ten AviationADR airlines with 100 or more cases. Raw totals point the other way: Ryanair logged 14,712 Reg 261 complaints against Wizz Air’s 6,971, but the per-million figure divides by the passengers each airline carried. This page ranks an airline only against others handled by the same body, never across all three, because the CAA calls the per-million figure an indicative estimate.

#UK261 £Which airlines had the most complaints per million passengers in FY26?

629 complaints per million passengers is Wizz Air’s FY26 rate, the highest of the ten airlines in this table that the CAA groups under AviationADR (“CDRL”). IndiGo’s 1,240 per million is highest inside the CAA’s PACT group; British Airways, at 155, is CEDR’s only qualifying row. Each ranks only within its own body.

UK airline complaints per million passengers, FY26 (April 2025-March 2026)

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (April 2025-March 2026), “Data Correct as of: 03/06/2026” — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.

Within AviationADR, Wizz Air’s rate is more than double Ryanair’s, even though Ryanair’s raw total runs more than twice Wizz Air’s. Within PACT, IndiGo’s 1,240 per million stands far above the next-highest row, Gulf Air’s 244, on a small fraction of the total cases. British Airways is the only CEDR airline that clears the 100-case cut-off, so its 155 has no CEDR peer to sit against on this page. The roughly 140 airlines and airports below that cut-off are in the CSV, not in the table above. Ranking never crosses a body line on this page. Read the PACT per-million figures with extra caution: the CAA’s latest-trends page describes the metric as “CDRL/CEDR only”, yet the FY26 sheet fills it for PACT rows too, and shows 0 for Norse Atlantic and flyadeal. Compare AviationADR only against AviationADR, PACT only against PACT.

#Why do raw complaint totals mislead?

15,863 total cases is Ryanair’s FY26 count, the largest raw figure among AviationADR members, yet its per-million rate of 283 sits below Wizz Air’s 629. easyJet’s 7,982 cases and British Airways' 7,349, in two different handling bodies, produce near-identical per-million rates of 154 and 155. Size, not conduct, drives most of the raw ranking.

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.

The CAA’s per-million figure is “an estimation based upon CAA data of the number of UK terminal passengers that travelled in the previous quarter”, and the CAA itself calls it “an indicative estimated value only”, not a precise rate. Comparing two airlines' raw case counts without dividing by passengers is like comparing two cities' total crime counts without asking how many people live in each: the bigger population usually wins by default. That does not make every per-million gap an illusion. TUI Airways' 3,104 total cases are nearly five times Virgin Atlantic’s 654, and TUI’s per-million rate, 259, is still more than double Virgin Atlantic’s 112, both in AviationADR: a gap that survives the size adjustment. Size explains most of the raw ranking. It does not explain all of it.

When you compare two airlines, cite the per-million column, not the case count, and name which handling body both figures come from.

#What does an airline’s uphold rate tell you?

80.0% is Norwegian’s FY26 uphold rate, the highest of the 27 airlines in this table; IndiGo’s 9.0% is the lowest. The CAA warns that the rate “could vary for a variety of reasons”, including how much an airline invests in resolving complaints before they reach adjudication. A high rate is not proof that an airline is more often at fault.

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 and Latest trends and statistics — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.

The CAA names one reason in its own notes: the airline “is allocating additional resources to handling the complaints before they reach ADR”. It does not say which way that moves a rate, and this page does not guess. All five of these extremes sit in the PACT group: Loganair (75.0%) and Iberia (76.0%) sit almost as high as Norwegian; Jet2 (16.0%) sits almost as low as IndiGo. Neither pattern alone says which airline treats passengers better.

Read the uphold rate next to the case count it is built on, not on its own: the CSV carries the total cases adjudicated for every row, including the roughly 140 below this page’s cut-off.

#Is a complaint count a delay ranking?

27 rows in this table are not a delay measure. AviationADR, CEDR and the CAA’s PACT team record complaints that reached them, not delayed flights or every complaint made to an airline. A UK261 delay claim needs 3 hours or more late at the final destination, and no extraordinary circumstances; this table holds no timing.

Source: UK261 art. 6 — legislation.gov.uk; CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.

Complaint volume can also reflect how easily an airline resolves a problem before a passenger escalates it. An airline could run punctually and still draw complaints over refused compensation, baggage or refunds; another could run poorly and draw few complaints because it settles claims quickly, without a passenger ever reaching ADR or PACT. Neither pattern is visible in this table alone. Punctuality and complaints measure different things.

For actual delay statistics by airport, read the CAA’s punctuality figures on this site’s airport pages, not this complaints table.

#Who handled these complaints: AviationADR, CEDR or the CAA?

10 of the 27 airlines in this FY26 table sit with AviationADR, which the CAA’s own data labels “CDRL”; one, British Airways, sits with CEDR; the other 16 sit with the CAA’s Passenger Advice and Complaints Team (PACT), for airlines outside both schemes. PACT cannot impose a binding decision; an accepted AviationADR or CEDR decision binds the airline.

Source: CAA, Alternative dispute resolution and How the CAA can help — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

AviationADR and CEDR are the CAA’s two approved ADR providers, free to the passenger once the airline has sent its final response or let 8 weeks pass without one, with most decisions given within 3 months and binding on the airline if accepted. PACT will advise whether a complaint looks valid and take it up with the airline, but the CAA is explicit that “we do not have the legal powers to impose a solution on an airline”. Jet2’s row above sits in the PACT group for exactly that reason: it belongs to neither ADR scheme. Scope differs too. AviationADR covers only the airlines and airports listed as its members; CEDR covers a much smaller set; PACT is the fallback for everyone else, including large airlines that have simply not joined a scheme.

Check the CAA’s ADR list and AviationADR’s own geographic map before you complain, so a claim against an ADR airline goes straight to AviationADR or CEDR rather than waiting on PACT.

#How was this table built?

3 June 2026 is the CAA’s own “Data Correct as of” date on the FY26 workbook this table transcribes, covering complaints opened between April 2025 and March 2026. Every table figure is the CAA’s own published number, never recalculated by this site. The table stops at 27 airlines with 100 or more total cases.

Source: CAA, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (XLSX), “Data Correct as of: 03/06/2026” — caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.

The CAA’s full FY26 sheet lists roughly 170 airline and airport rows; this page publishes only the 27 that clear 100 total cases, and links the rest as a CSV. A Q2 2026 quarterly file has since been published, but this page uses the full FY26 year only, and a 14 May 2026 revision changed the CAA’s own Q1 2023-Q4 2025 figures, so no year-on-year comparison is drawn here. Every per-million figure, every uphold rate and every case count in the table above is copied from the CAA’s own workbook, not derived from a different formula on this site.

Download the CSV if your airline or airport sits below the 100-case cut-off, as explained on this site. For a different measure in a different country, on-time arrivals and delay causes by US carrier, see US airline delay rankings.

#Sources

• Civil Aviation Authority, Passenger Complaints Data FY26 (XLSX, “Data Correct as of: 03/06/2026”) - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Latest trends and statistics - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-22.
• Civil Aviation Authority, Alternative dispute resolution - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Civil Aviation Authority, How the CAA can help - caa.co.uk, checked 2026-09-15.
• Regulation (EC) No 261/2004 as it forms part of UK law, art. 6 - legislation.gov.uk, checked 2026-09-15.

#FAQ

Which airline gets the most complaints per passenger in the UK?

629 complaints per million passengers is Wizz Air's FY26 rate, the highest among the ten AviationADR (CDRL) airlines with 100 or more cases. Air France/KLM (419) and Ryanair (283) follow in that same body. Within PACT, IndiGo's 1,240 per million is highest; within CEDR, British Airways (155) is the only qualifying row.

Which airline had the most complaints to ADR in FY26?

14,712 Reg 261 complaints to AviationADR is Ryanair's raw FY26 total, the largest of any airline on that list, out of 15,863 total cases opened. Per million passengers its rate is 283, well below Wizz Air's 629 in the same handling body, because Ryanair carries far more passengers.

Does a high uphold rate mean an airline is worse?

No. Uphold rates in FY26 range from 9.0% (IndiGo) to 80.0% (Norwegian), and the CAA says the rate "could vary for a variety of reasons", including an airline allocating additional resources to handling complaints before they reach ADR. A rate on its own says nothing about how often an airline was wrong.

Are complaint figures the same as delay figures?

No. These are complaints received by AviationADR, CEDR or the CAA's PACT team, not a count of delayed flights, and not every complaint made directly to an airline. For actual delay statistics by airport, the CAA's punctuality data on this site's airport pages is the separate measure to use.

Can I take my complaint to ADR myself for free?

Yes. AviationADR and CEDR are both free to the passenger once the airline has given its final response or 8 weeks have passed without one, and the CAA says most decisions come within 3 months. An accepted decision binds the airline; you keep the right to go to court instead.