STANSTED Airport has achieved its best on-time performance for scheduled departures since its new terminal opened in 1991, figures from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) have revealed.

The CAA said 85% of all scheduled flights from Stansted last year departed on-time, compared with the 71% achieved 21 years ago and up 11% on 2010.

Stansted. the UK’s fourth busiest airport also saw the biggest increase in on-time performance of any airport in the last three months of 2011, improving punctuality by 16% over the same period in 2010 as 85% of flights departed on schedule.

Nick Barton, Stansted Airport’s managing director, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the latest CAA figures recognise the excellent on-time performance of departing flights at Stansted, our best ever year since Her Majesty The Queen opened the new Stansted 21 years ago this week.

“It’s really important for passengers and airlines to know they will get away on-time with the minimum of fuss.

“The 2011 data makes clear; if you’re flying low-cost, Stansted is the best airport in the UK for on-time performance despite being one of the country’s busiest airports.

“We pride ourselves on being one of the most punctual and easy to use so, whether travelling for business or leisure, passengers can do so with confidence when choosing to fly from Stansted.”

Stansted also won several notable international awards last year, including the Skytrax “World’s best low-cost airport” award, the “Air Cargo Award of Excellence”, and the UK’s best cleaned transport premises at the Golden Service Awards.