text: Flight cancellations soared by 20 per cent and delays by 7 per cent in the first quarter of 2015. UK passengers faced more holiday chaos than during the same period last year, according to analysis from flight data specialist EUclaim. In the first four months of the year, there have so far been 5,080 flight cancellations, compared to the 4,239 cancellations during the same period in 2014. According to flight data specialist EUclaim, cancellations and delays are on the rise so far this year over last . The number of delays also increased to 2,427 from 2,260 in 2014. It's low-cost carrier Monarch that has seen the greatest increase in delays so far, with passengers suffering 64 incidents compared to 47 during the same period of time last year. That's an increase of 30 per cent. And EasyJet hasn't fared much better, experiencing a 19 per cent increase in delays. During last year's first quarter, there were a reported 206 hold-ups, while this year has already seen 245. However, airlines are refuting the figures. A spokesperson fro Monarch said: 'The recent media report in regards to the on time performance during the first quarter of this year is incorrect and misleading. 'For clarity, during the first quarter of 2015 we experienced winter weather across Europe which has been far worse than the same period last year, which particularly affected our operation to and from France, as well as the recent the French ATC strike which affected many carriers across Europe. It should be noted that during this time frame Monarch Airlines’ did not cancel any flights. 'In the event of strikes or weather disruption, the business model of many other airline carriers is to cancel services; which will protect their on-time performance, but of course have a negative impact on their customers. 'Monarch Airlines will only cancel flights if there is absolutely no viable way of operating that flight thus placing the highest value on getting customers to their destination as opposed to protecting our on-time performance by tactically cancelling our flights.' Low-cost carrier Monarch has fared the worst so far in 2015, experiencing a 30% increase in delays . Despite all the hold ups, it's been a good year for Thomas Cook, which has reduced its delays by 37% . But it may not be entirely the fault of the airlines. Monarch - 39% increase . EasyJet - 19% increase . Jet2 - 17% increase . Virgin - 7% increase . Thomson - 6% increase . Ryanair - 6% increase . British Airways - 11% decrease . Thomas Cook - 37% decrease . Winter weather across Europe this year has been far worse than the same period last year and has particularly affected Jet2, easyJet and Monarch's routes to Chambery and Grenoble in France. Similarly, delays and cancellations could also be attributed to a number of strikes on the continent. The four-day Lufthansa strike in March resulted in some 116 cancellations of flights to the UK. Strikes by Italian Air Traffic Controllers and security staff in Germany also compounded such a problem. Still, despite the external factors, it's been a good year for Thomas Cook, which has reduced delays by 37 per cent, and British Airways also saw an 11 per cent reduction in stoppages. Monarch Airlines contests the EUclaim figures, however, telling MailOnline Travel that 'their source of information is questionable. 'They claim that their data comes directly from the aircrafts on board ACARS and ADS-B systems, but Monarch Airlines use neither of these. 'The reason that our OTP figures appear higher than other airlines is due to the fact that we have not cancelled any flights. 'We put our customers before our OTP and would rather operate with a delay than not at all.'
target: In the first four months of the year, flight cancellations are up 20% over last .
  Number of delays have also increased 7% up to 2,427 so far this year .
  According to EUclaim, the worst offenders include: Monarch and EasyJet .