April 14, 2025 | Jesse Singer

The World's Most On-Time Airlines And Airports


Right On Time

Okay, so maybe the flights aren't leaving right on time, but when it comes to these airlines and airports, they are leaving as close to on time more often than the others. 

Cirium is an aviation analytics company that does monthly stats on all airlines, and has been handing out on-time performance review awards every year for over a decade. And they recently released their 2024 Top 5 in both global and regional categories. Let's take a look.

Oh, and just to note—when indicating "on-time" arrival and departure percentages: "An on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival time. Airports measure punctuality as departing flights within 14:59 minutes of their scheduled departure time".

How many of these on-time winners have you flown with? Were your experiences as good as the data indicates?

Global 5: Qatar Airways (QR)

Completion Factor: 99.72%    

Within Block Time: 73.76%    

On-Time Arrivals: 82.83%    

On-Time Departures: 82.56%

Qatar Airways Airbus A350 cabin crew member, flight attendant.M101Studio, Shutterstock

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Global 4: LATAM Airlines (LA)

Completion Factor: 98.52%    

Within Block Time: 71.04%    

On-Time Arrivals: 82.89%    

On-Time Departures: 83.23%

LATAM Airlines (LA | LAN) at Hamburg FinkenwerderKevin Hackert, Shutterstock

Global 3: Delta Air Lines (DL)    

Completion Factor: 98.95%   

Within Block Time:  77.34%    

On-Time Arrivals: 83.46%    

On-Time Departures: 83.74%

Delta Airlines Flight attendants poseDelta News Hub, Flickr

Global 2: Saudia (SV)    

Completion Factor: 99.82%    

Within Block Time: 68.34%    

On-Time Arrivals: 86.35%    

On-Time Departures: 88.82%

Saudia Royal Fleet (SV | SVA) at Hamburg AirportKevin Hackert, Shutterstock

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Global 1: Aeromexico (AM)    

Completion Factor: 99.32%    

Within Block Time: 75.82%    

On-Time Arrivals: 86.70%    

On-Time Departures: 87.73%

Now let's look at Europe only...

AeroMexico Boeing 737 departingMinh K Tran, Shutterstock

Europe 5: Norwegian (DY)    

Completion Factor: 99.18%    

Within Block Time: 68.71%    

On-Time Arrivals: 79.23%    

On-Time Departures: 79.58%

Norwegian 737-800 AircraftNorwegian Air Shuttle, CC BY 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Europe 4: Vueling (VY)    

Completion Factor: 99.09%    

Within Block Time: 76.33%    

On-Time Arrivals: 81.20%    

On-Time Departures: 79.43%

Vueling Airlines A321 In The SkyPedro Aragão, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Europe 3: SAS (SK)    

Completion Factor: 99.09%    

Within Block Time: 62.86%   

On-Time Arrivals:  81.40%    

On-Time Departures: 82.72%

Scandinavian Airlines System In The SkyDylan T, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Europe 2: Iberia (IB)    

Completion Factor: 98.83%    

Within Block Time: 74.16%   

On-Time Arrivals:  81.58%    

On-Time Departures: 79.77%

Iberia (airline) plane In The SkyOyoyoy, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Europe 1: Iberia Express (I2)    

Completion Factor: 99.49%    

Within Block Time: 72.03%

On-Time Arrivals: 84.69%    

On-Time Departures: 86.72%

While the Spanish airline takes the top two spots in Europe, what about North America?

Iberia Express Airbus A321neo at Madrid airport.Bene Riobó, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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North America 5: Southwest Airlines (WN)    

Completion Factor: 99.38%    

Within Block Time: 76.55%    

On-Time Arrivals77.77%    

On-Time Departures: 76.65%

Southwest Airlines - world's largest operator of the Boeing 737ERIC SALARD, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

North America 4: American Airlines (AA)    

Completion Factor: 98.68%    

Within Block Time: 72.05%    

On-Time Arrivals: 77.78%    

On-Time Departures: 79.13%

American Airlines aircraft at PHXQuintin Soloviev, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

North America 3: Alaska Airlines (AS)    

Completion Factor: 98.56%    

Within Block Time: 63.15%    

On-Time Arrivals: 79.25%    

On-Time Departures: 81.70%

Alaska Airlines Boeing landing at Vancouver International AirportMakaristos, Wikimedia Commons

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North America 2: United Airlines (UA)    

Completion Factor: 98.35%    

Within Block Time: 74.95%    

On-Time Arrivals: 80.93%    

On-Time Departures: 81.98%

United 2822 from Chicago and TokyoN509FZ, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

North America 1: Delta Air Lines (DL)    

Completion Factor: 98.95%    

Within Block Time: 77.34%    

On-Time Arrivals: 83.46%    

On-Time Departures: 83.74%

This was Delta's fourth win in a row in the North America category—earning them Cirium’s Platinum Award for global operational excellence, which "considers the complexity of the carrier’s network, volume of flights, and the ability to limit the impact of flight disruptions on passengers over the entire year".

But if you think that's impressive—check out the Latin America winner...

Delta Air Lines Boeing 757-200 N713TW4300streetcar, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Latin America 5: Aerolineas Argentinas (AR)    

Completion Factor: 97.54%    

Within Block Time: 63.40%        

On-Time Arrivals: 83.06%         

On-Time Departures: 84.62%

Boeing 747 of Aerolíneas Argentinas at Madrid-Barajas AirportBarcex, CC-BY-SA-2.5, Wikimedia Commons

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Latin America 4: Gol (G3)    

Completion Factor: 98.78%    

Within Block Time: 69.88%      

On-Time Arrivals: 84.09%    

On-Time Departures: 83.90%

Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes Airplane DepartingRafael Luiz Canossa, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Latin America 3: Caribbean Airlines (BW)    

Completion Factor: 99.06%    

Within Block Time: 42.67%    

On-Time Arrivals: 85.47%         

On-Time Departures: 87.82%

Caribbean Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8DigitalCAL, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Latin America 2: Aeromexico (AM)    

Completion Factor: 99.32%    

Within Block Time: 75.82%         

On-Time Arrivals: 86.70%         

On-Time Departures: 87.73%

Aeroméxico, Boeing 787-8, XA-AMXMasakatsu Ukon, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Latin America 1: Copa Airlines (CM)    

Completion Factor98.73%    

Within Block Time: 68.58%    

On-Time Arrivals: 88.22%    

On-Time Departures: 91.77%

This was Copa Airlines' "landmark" 10th win in the category.

But what about the Airports? What are the top five most on-time global airports?

Embraer Emb190 of Copa AirlinesAlec Wilson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Global Airports 5: Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez Intl Airport (SCL)    

On-Time Departures: 82.84%      

On-Time Arrivals: 78.51%    

Total Routes Served: 68      

Total Airlines Served: 21

Arturo Merino Benitez International AirportPhillip Capper, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Global Airports 4: Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)    

On-Time Departures: 83.80%       

On-Time Arrivals: 84.78%    

Total Routes Served: 104      

Total Airlines Served: 14

Salt Lake City International Airport in 2010Doc Searls, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Global Airports 3: Mexico City Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX)    

On-Time Departures: 84.04%        

On-Time Arrivals: 84.82%    

Total Routes Served: 102  

Total Airlines Served: 22

Departures waiting area on Terminal 2. Mexico City International AirportProtoplasmaKid, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Global Airports 2: Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM)    

On-Time Departures: 84.57%        

On-Time Arrivals: 78.64%    

Total Routes Served: 71     

Total Airlines Served: 27

Jorge Chávez International Airport near Lima, PeruCapomo81, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

Global Airports 1: Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH)    

On-Time Departures: 86.65%        

On-Time Arrivals: 81.79%    

Total Routes Served: 115

Total Airlines Served: 60

Riyadh King Khalid International Airport also took home the win in the "Large Airport" category as well.

Other winners in other airline and airport categories include...

Central area of the airport of RiyadhKritzolina, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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Other Winners

Most On-Time "Medium Airport": Tocumen International Airport Panama

Most On-Time "Small Airport": Guayaquil Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport Ecuador

Most On-Time Asia Pacific Airline: Japan Airlines (JL)

Most On-Time Middle East and Africa Airline: FlySafair (FA)

Most On-Time Low-Cost Airline: Iberia Express (I2)

You might also like:

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Aircraft At Tocumen International AirportWilfredo Rafael Rodriguez Hernandez, CC0, Wikimedia Commons

Sources: 1

 


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