Aeromexico Repeats as Most On-Time Global Airline; Qatar Airways Claims Platinum Award
2.1.2026 12:00:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
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.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260102045464/en/
Contacts
For Cirium media inquiries please contact media@cirium.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
www.businesswire.com
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Mentimeter Launches Three New Tools for Better Leadership23.9.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Mentimeter is launching an engagement suite with three new tools: Menti Live, Menti Form and Menti Pulse. Through interaction, insights and recommendations, the new suite enables organizations to engage people live, collect input asynchronously and track important signals over time. Today’s launch expands Mentimeter’s platform beyond live presentations, helping turn participation into new ways of understanding what people think, know and need. “Most organizations have plenty of data, but surprisingly little understanding of what their people actually think. These new tools give leaders a way to turn participation into company-wide performance – in the room, afterward and over time. That creates better input for action and, ultimately, better leadership,” says Johnny Warström, CEO and founder of Mentimeter. Three tools for different moments of engagement Menti Form collects input asynchronously. It allows for shared reflection and gives people the opportunity to contribute regardless of
Thredd Partners with Velocity to Expand Global Payments Platform, Offer Stablecoin-Powered Money Movement23.9.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Thredd, the AI-first issuer processing platform, today announced the expansion of its payments platform to include stablecoin-powered money movement capabilities, through a partnership with Velocity, the stablecoin treasury and settlement platform bringing enterprises onchain. The initial rollout of these capabilities will focus on supporting B2B and B2B2B applications, including stablecoin-backed card programmes, cross-border payouts, global treasury flows and on-chain settlement. Thredd clients will now be able to convert between fiat currencies and supported stablecoins, send funds on-chain or through connected fiat rails, and use stablecoins for funding, payouts and settlement. “Stablecoins are rapidly becoming an important part of global payments infrastructure, but clients should not have to rebuild their payments stack to take advantage of them,” said Jim McCarthy, CEO, Thredd. “By bringing stablecoin money movement into the Thredd platform, we can connect the issuing and proces
EADV 2026: Galderma to Unveil New Data Advancing Understanding of Skin Diseases, Skin Longevity, and Real-world Patient Experiences23.9.2026 08:00:00 EEST | Press release
Galderma (SIX: GALD), the pure-play dermatology category leader, will present 19 abstracts and deliver a broad scientific education program at the 2026 European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology (EADV) Congress. Through these activities, Galderma will showcase how it continues to advance its pipeline and the science of dermatology, deepening understanding of biological and quality-of-life factors, while driving innovation in targeted treatments, skin longevity and evidence-based care. “At Galderma, we recognize that advancing dermatology means not only addressing the needs of patients living with common chronic skin conditions, such as atopic dermatitis and acne, but also anticipating the trends that will shape the future of skin health. Our presence at EADV demonstrates our unique ability to achieve this, with new data spanning both established areas of unmet need and emerging fields such as skin longevity, helping drive innovation and meaningful outcomes for patients today and i
Oticon Medical Launches SmartCharger for the Ponto 5 Family23.9.2026 08:00:00 EEST | Press release
Oticon Medical today announces the launch of SmartCharger for the Ponto 5 family, introducing its first rechargeable solution for percutaneous sound processors and marking a new step in convenience and portability for bone anchored hearing system users. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922863462/en/ Oticon Medical today announces the launch of SmartCharger for the Ponto 5 family, introducing its first rechargeable solution for percutaneous sound processors and marking a new step in convenience and portability for bone anchored hearing system users. Powering the Ponto 5 family The launch of SmartCharger underlines Oticon Medical’s continued commitment to the Ponto family, which includes Ponto 5 SuperPower, the world’s most powerful abutment-level sound processor,1 and Ponto 5 Mini, the world’s smallest percutaneous sound processor.1 By bringing rechargeable convenience to the Ponto sound processors, Oticon Me
Textron Aviation Marks 500th Cessna Citation Latitude Rollout22.9.2026 17:19:00 EEST | Press release
Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, today announced the rollout of the 500th Cessna Citation Latitude business jet from the company’s Wichita, Kansas, manufacturing facility. The production milestone highlights the continued success of the world’s best-selling midsize business jet and recognizes the employees whose craftsmanship and dedication have helped make the Citation Latitude the trusted choice for operators around the world. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260922867287/en/ Textron Aviation marks 500th Cessna Citation Latitude rollout. (Photo Credit: Textron Aviation) “The rollout of the 500th Citation Latitude is a testament to the employees who build this aircraft with dedication and pride every day,” said Eric Cardinali, senior vice president, Manufacturing. “Behind every aircraft is a team committed to delivering the quality and craftsmanship our customers expect. This milestone
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom