Iberia has once again won the title of the most punctual airline in Europe in 2024, while Aeromexico won the global award, according to the latest data from aviation analytics company Cirium.
Cirium, the global source of aviation analytics, kicked off the year by revealing the winners of the 2024 On-Time Performance Review. Cirium’s annual report is the gold standard for global airline and airport performance analysis.
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: “In an industry defined by operational complexity, we are extremely proud to be celebrating the airlines and airports who have provided customers the most on-time flights and best performance in 2024, acknowledging their operational excellence.”
“2024 was a difficult year for airlines, facing a large-scale IT outage, and unseasonable and severe weather patterns. Despite these challenges, these airlines and airports have worked tirelessly to ensure their customers have a smooth journey and reach their destination on-time.”
Below are the results for the airlines with the most on-time flights in 2024.
The most consistent airline in the world
According to Cirium, Aeromexico claimed the top spot as the most punctual “global airline” in 2024, achieving an impressive 86.70% performance rate. Saudia followed in second place with 86.35%, while Delta Air Lines secured third place with 83.46%, continuing to showcase its operational reliability on the global stage.
Not all airlines are eligible for this award, as entry requires them to fly to at least three continents and provide a certain number of available miles per seat (ASM). Therefore, some of the regional airlines did not qualify, even if they had a higher on-time performance rate.
The world’s most punctual airlines
| Ranking | Air carrier | Timely Performance |
| 1 | Aeromexico | 86.70% |
| 2 | Saudia | 86.35% |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | 83.46% |
| 4 | LATAM Airlines | 82.89% |
| 5 | Qatar Airways | 82.83% |
Iberia Express, the regional subsidiary, was ranked first, with an on-time performance of 84.7%, while the main airline Iberia was ranked second, with 81.6%, an incredible performance by the group.
The most punctual airlines in Europe
| Ranking | Air carrier | Timely Performance |
| 1 | Iberia Express | 84.69% |
| 2 | Iberia | 81.58% |
| 3 | SAS | 81.40% |
| 4 | Vuelling Airlines | 81.20% |
| 5 | Norwegian | 79.23% |
A new entrant in this category secured a surprising third place. It was SAS, the Scandinavian airline, which completed its restructuring and joined SkyTeam during last summer. Mike Malik, Cirium’s head of marketing, noted that the airline “has made huge strides in IT and technology investments, but also in fleets as well.”
Delta Air Lines continued its dominance in North America, while Copa Airlines achieved a landmark 10th win in Latin America. FlySafair also won most On-Time airline in the Middle East and Africa. In the same time, Japan Airlines ranked first within Asia-Pacific, just slightly ahead of All Nippon Airways.
In the Airport categories, Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, the gateway to Saudi Arabia’s capital, claimed this year’s prestigious title of the most On-Time “Global Airport” with an impressive 86.65% of flights departing on time.
In the UK, Virgin Atlantic led the way with 74.01% of its flights arriving on time, while Wizz Air UK came in at 70.5% with easyJet coming in third with 68.4% of arrivals on time. British Airways passengers will be disappointed to see that just 67.83% of the airline’s flights arrived on time.
