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AMIDST increasingly dense global air traffic and increasingly complex flight networks, on-time performance (OTP) has once again become a key indicator of airline and airport service quality.
2025 presents significant operational challenges, ranging from a surge in passenger numbers, the full recovery of international routes, to weather disruptions and limited infrastructure capacity in several regions.
In this context, the 2025 On-Time Performance Review, released this week by Cirium, provides a data-driven overview of the airlines and airports best able to maintain smooth operations.
The results highlight Latin America and the Middle East as two regions that stand out in the global conversation about flight reliability.
The report not only captures on-time percentages but also assesses how airlines and airports manage network complexity, performance consistency throughout the year, and the impact of operational disruptions on passengers.
Cirium is a global aviation analytics company that specifically tracks airline and airport performance through real-time flight data. The Cirium database is widely used by airlines, airport operators, governments, and travel organizations to evaluate punctuality, operational reliability, and network performance worldwide.
Cirium collects and processes flight data from hundreds of sources, making it one of the leading references in the global aviation industry for measuring operational performance objectively and consistently year after year.
According to Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, stated that maintaining consistent on-time performance requires sophisticated network planning, operational coordination, and the ability to recover quickly from deviations.
“These results reflect the operational discipline that defines the best performers in the aviation industry,” Bowen explained, as quoted from Cirium’s official website, Tuesday (June 1, 2026).
How is airline punctuality measured? In its review, Cirium analyzed flight data from more than 600 real-time sources. These sources include airlines, airports, air navigation service providers, global distribution systems, and civil aviation authorities in various countries.
A flight is considered on-time if the aircraft arrives at the gate within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of its scheduled arrival time. The same time threshold is also used to assess airport departure punctuality.
This methodology is applied consistently across regions and types of operations, allowing for cross-country and cross-regional comparisons with a uniform measurement basis.
In addition to on-time percentages, Cirium also awards Platinum Awards and a number of special awards. This assessment is not based solely on OTP figures but also considers a number of additional factors.
These factors include operational complexity, the scale of the flight network, consistent performance throughout the year, and the impact on passengers during disruptions.
With this approach, Cirium recognizes airlines and airports that are able to maintain reliability amidst large, busy, and complex operations.
In its 2025 ranking of the most punctual global airlines, Cirium noted the dominance of airlines from Latin America and the Middle East. The top ten global airlines with the best on-time performance are as follows: (1) Aeromexico (Mexico): 90.02%, (2) Saudia (Saudi Arabia): 86.53%, (3) SAS (Sweden): 86.09%, (4) Azul (Brazil): 85.18%, (5). Qatar Airways (Qatar): 84.42%.
(6). Iberia (Spain): 83.52%, (7). LATAM Airlines (Chile): 82.40%, (8). Avianca (Colombia): 81.73%, (9). Turkish Airlines (Turkey): 81.41%, (10). Delta Air Lines (United States): 80.90%. [sources/photo special]
