LONDON -
Virgin Atlantic wins new award as most improved airline for on-time performance
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aeromexico maintained a 90.02% on-time performance to claim the world's most on-time global airline title for the second consecutive year, according to Cirium's 2025 On-Time Performance Review released today.
The Mexican carrier becomes only the second airline to achieve consecutive global wins since Cirium launched the program in 2009, operating 188,859 flights across 23 countries while maintaining industry-leading schedule reliability.
Aeromexico Holds Global Lead; Regional Champions Crowned
Aeromexico secured the global airline title with 90.02% on-time performance, holding off strong competition from Saudia in second place with 86.53% and SAS with 86.09% in third. The margin between first and third place was 3.93 percentage points, reflecting the strong performance of Aeromexico in 2025.
Regional winners included:
North America: Delta Air Lines won for the fifth consecutive year with 80.90% on-time performance
Europe: Iberia Express (International Airlines Group) defended its title for the third consecutive year with 88.94% on-time performance
Asia-Pacific: Philippine Airlines claimed the regional title for the first time with 83.12% on-time performance
Latin America: Copa Airlines achieved its 11th win, the most of any airline since Cirium's program launched in 2009 with 90.75% on-time performance
Middle East and Africa: Safair topped the regional rankings with 91.06% on-time performance
Qatar Airways Wins Airline Platinum Award
Qatar Airways captured Cirium's Platinum Award, recognizing the Doha-based carrier's operational excellence across its global hub network. The airline achieved 84.42% on-time performance across more than 198,303 flights spanning six continents.
Virgin Atlantic Claims Inaugural 'Most Improved' Award
Virgin Atlantic won Cirium's new 'Most Improved' award, demonstrating the largest year-over-year operational performance gain among global carriers. The UK-based airline improved its on-time performance from 74.01% in 2024 to 83.45% in 2025—a 9.44 percentage point increase year-over-year.
The new award recognizes airlines that have achieved meaningful operational scale (minimum 70% baseline performance) while delivering substantial improvements, ensuring the honor reflects genuine operational excellence rather than recovery from poor prior performance.
Strong Global Airport Performance in 2025
Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport wins the Large Airport category, with 87.04% of flights departing on time.
Panama's Tocumen International Airport won the Medium Airport category with 93.34% of flights departing on time. Ecuador's Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport claimed the Small Airport title for the second year in a row with 91.47% of flights departing on time.
Istanbul Airport won Cirium's Airport Platinum Award, which evaluates operational complexity, passenger impact during disruptions, and growth trajectory. Last year's Airport Platinum winner was El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.
Industry Context and Analysis
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: "Maintaining consistent on-time performance requires sophisticated network planning, operational coordination, and the ability to recover quickly when irregularities occur. These results reflect the operational discipline that defines aviation's top performers."
"Qatar Airways' Platinum win is particularly significant because it demonstrates how a network carrier can maintain on-time performance across six continents while operating one of the industry's most complex hub structures. Their 84.42% on-time rate over 198,303 flights sets a new benchmark for network carriers. Similarly, Copa's 11th win for the Latin American category and Delta's fifth consecutive North American win, reflects sustained operational focus that separates industry leaders from competitors."
About the On-Time Performance Review
Now in its 17th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance Review analyzes flight data from over 600 real-time sources including airlines, airports, global distribution systems, and civil aviation authorities. An independent advisory board of aviation industry veterans provides oversight and guidance.
An on-time flight arrives within 14:59 minutes of scheduled gate arrival time. Airport punctuality measures flights departing within 14:59 minutes of scheduled departure time. The Platinum Awards for both airlines and airports consider operational complexity, network scale, passenger impact during disruptions, and consistency throughout the year.
The Most Improved award, introduced in 2025, requires carriers to demonstrate at least 70% baseline on-time performance in the prior year to ensure recognition reflects operational excellence rather than recovery from poor performance.
Complete 2025 Rankings
Top 10 Global Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(AM) Aeromexico
90.02%
188,859
2
(SV) Saudia
86.53%
202,864
3
(SK) SAS
86.09%
249,674
4
(AD) Azul
85.18%
304,625
5
(QR) Qatar Airways
84.42%
198,303
6
(IB) Iberia
83.52%
188,447
7
(LA) LATAM Airlines
82.40%
580,707
8
(AV) Avianca
81.73%
266,921
9
(TK) Turkish Airlines
81.41%
421,090
10
(DL) Delta Air Lines
80.90%
1,800,086
Top 10 North American Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(DL) Delta Air Lines
80.90%
1,800,086
2
(AS) Alaska Airlines
79.20%
453,031
3
(NK) Spirit Airlines
78.83%
218,265
4
(UA) United Airlines
78.77%
1,732,450
5
(WN) Southwest Airlines
77.04%
1,422,405
6
(AA) American Airlines
76.43%
2,259,576
7
(B6) JetBlue
74.66%
313,318
8
(WS) WestJet
73.58%
205,501
9
(AC) Air Canada
73.26%
383,819
10
(F9) Frontier Airlines
72.14%
208,987
Top 10 European Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(I2) Iberia Express
88.94%
37,119
2
(SK) SAS
86.09%
249,674
3
(OS) Austrian
83.74%
124,457
4
(IB) Iberia
83.52%
188,447
5
(VS) Virgin Atlantic
83.45%
26,359
6
(FI) Icelandair
83.23%
39,425
7
(VY) Vueling
82.20%
228,611
8
(TK) Turkish Airlines
81.41%
421,090
9
(D8, DY) Norwegian
80.96%
150,784
10
(AY) Finnair
79.67%
116,652
Top 10 Latin American Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(CM) Copa Airlines
90.75%
133,748
2
(AM) Aeromexico
90.02%
188,859
3
(G3) Gol
87.75%
238,182
4
(AD) Azul
85.18%
304,625
5
(LA) LATAM Airlines
82.40%
580,707
6
(H2) Sky Airline
82.39%
55,116
7
(AV) Avianca
81.73%
266,921
8
(JA) JetSmart Chile
76.91%
90,460
9
(AR) Aerolineas Argentinas
76.54%
107,490
10
Only 9 airlines qualified in the region
Top 10 Asia-Pacific Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(PR) Philippine Airlines
83.12%
116,268
2
(NZ) Air New Zealand
79.29%
171,216
3
(NH) ANA
78.88%
309,998
4
(SQ) Singapore Airlines
78.58%
121,293
5
(JL) JAL
78.25%
313,410
6
(6E) IndiGo
78.12%
802,418
7
(CX) Cathay Pacific
76.78%
119,193
8
(VA) Virgin Australia
76.54%
155,038
9
(QF) Qantas
76.51%
276,859
10
(KE) Korean Air
75.34%
133,252
Top 10 Middle East and Africa Airlines
Ranking
Airline
On-Time Arrival
Total Flights
1
(FA) Safair
91.06%
62,805
2
(RJ) Royal Jordanian
90.73%
37,524
3
(F3) Flyadeal
86.54%
69,971
4
(SV) Saudia
86.53%
202,864
5
(4Z) Airlink
84.47%
84,361
6
(QR) Qatar Airways
84.42%
198,303
7
(WY) Oman Air
83.10%
38,828
8
(SA) South African Airways
81.26%
24,461
9
(EY) Etihad Airways
81.06%
100,620
10
(KU) Kuwait Airways
79.50%
29,977
Top 10 Large Airports
Ranking
Airport
On-Time Departure
Total Flights
1
(SCL) Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez Intl Airport
87.04%
153,326
2
(RUH) Riyadh King Khalid International Airport
86.81%
264,614
3
(MEX) Mexico City Benito Juárez International Airport
86.55%
295,737
4
(HNL) Honolulu International Airport
86.51%
156,139
5
(OSL) Oslo Gardermoen Airport
86.00%
204,882
6
(LIM) Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport
85.54%
183,137
7
(SLC) Salt Lake City International Airport
85.04%
243,848
8
(CPH) Copenhagen Airport
84.72%
236,903
9
(DOH) Doha Hamad International Airport
84.70%
251,864
10
(ARN) Stockholm Arlanda Airport
83.59%
181,238
Top 10 Medium Airports
Ranking
Airport
On-Time Departure
Total Flights
1
(PTY) Panama City Tocumen International Airport
93.34%
148,065
2
(BSB) Brasilia International Airport
88.36%
114,481
3
(JNB) Johannesburg O.R. Tambo International Airport
86.22%
189,542
4
(ITM) Osaka Itami International Airport
86.04%
136,489
5
(DMM) Dammam King Fahd International Airport
85.15%
94,768
6
(GIG) Rio de Janeiro Galeão International Airport
85.13%
115,384
7
(PDX) Portland International Airport
85.02%
159,964
8
(VCP) Viracopos-Campinas International Airport
84.55%
111,758
9
(SJC) San Jose Mineta International Airport
83.66%
99,182
10
(CNF) Belo Horizonte International Airport
83.57%
113,857
Top 10 Small Airports
Ranking
Airport
On-Time Departure
Total Flights
1
(GYE) Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo Intl Airport
91.47%
34,068
2
(SAL) El Salvador International Airport
90.28%
47,203
3
(SDU) Rio de Janeiro Santos Dumont Airport
89.67%
58,303
4
(SVG) Stavanger Airport
89.55%
38,894
5
(UIO) Quito Mariscal Sucre International Airport
89.45%
42,911
6
(CPT) Cape Town International Airport
88.72%
82,030
7
(KOA) Ellison Onizuka Kona Intl Airport at Keahole
88.48%
32,702
8
(SSA) Salvador International Airport
87.32%
55,594
9
(TRD) Trondheim Airport
86.95%
47,291
10
(AMM) Amman Queen Alia International Airport
86.82%
76,734
Cirium's full 2025 On-Time Performance Review is available at www.cirium.com/on-time-performance
About Cirium
Cirium delivers aviation analytics that power decision-making for airlines, airports, travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, and financial institutions. The company analyzes flight data from over 600 sources globally, tracking more than 35 million flights annually to manage its OTP program.
Cirium is part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a RELX business that provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX PLC shares trade on the London, Amsterdam, and New York Stock Exchanges (ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX).
For more information, visit cirium.com or follow Cirium on LinkedIn.
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