The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a probe into practices at the terminal after a drop in its “on-time performance” saw fewer than 50% of flights departing punctually during June, July and August, The Sunday Times, reports.

Less than 50% of flights took off on time from Gatwick during the summer period while between 51% and 63% of flights arriving at the terminal were said to have landed on time.

The CAA defines punctual as within 16 minutes of schedule.

The figures follow recent calls to Gatwick from easyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall to improve its punctuality before adding more flights.

“Infrastructure needs to stabilise for the sake of the airport, passengers and airlines,” McCall said.

Gatwick is currently home to the world’s busiest single runway which handles up to 55 flights an hour and close to 43 million passengers a year.

A Gatwick spokesperson said: “This year some of our airlines have been affected by weather disruption and air traffic controller strikes in Europe that have made it difficult to meet what are, in some cases, quite ambitious scheduling targets.”