Flight delays for holidaymakers are on the increase. The Air Transport Users Council report out today shows that at least 9% of holiday flights are subject to delay, making the hard plastic seats of airport lounges even more uncomfortable.

AirText is an independent service that provides live flight status updates direct to mobile phones, informing customers in real-time about any changes to their flight schedules. The service covers both UK arrivals and departures, regardless of carrier or airport and provides information as detailed as check-in desk, boarding gate number, 'one-hour away' report, delay updates and any cancellations.

The service is available on the web at www.airtext.co.uk or in travel agents nationwide, but independent travellers can access the service by texting the word AIRTEXT + flight number to 80039.