Virgin Atlantic was the top-performing UK-based airline with 74.01% of on-time flights, according to Cirium’s 16th annual On-Time Performance Review.
But no UK airlines made it into the top 10 airlines for punctuality in Europe.
Instead, British Airways featured in the list of European airlines with the most cancellations in 2024.
Data showed that 7,117 of the UK flag carrier’s 310,631 flights were cancelled last year, the second-highest figure for airlines in Europe after Lufthansa, which had 12,220 of 419,682 flights cancelled.
Third was easyJet with 5,783 cancellations among 587,574 flights.
The annual review by Cirium factors in 600 real-time feeds – including airlines, airports, global distribution systems and civil aviation authorities – and documents the operational excellence of airlines in five regions around the world.
An on-time flight is defined as arriving within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival time. reveals the airlines and airports that excelled in on-time and operational performance in 2024.
It showed the Asia-Pacific region recorded the most flight cancellations in 2024, with 315,317 of the region’s 12,489,263 services scratched.
Aeromexico was named the most punctual global airline in 2024, achieving an on-time performance rate of 86.70%, followed by Saudia with 86.35%.
Delta Air Lines was third with 83.46%. It was the winner of Cirium’s Platinum Award for global operational excellence for the fourth consecutive year. The award considers the complexity of the carrier’s network, volume of flights (1,712,529 in 2024) and ability to limit the impact of flight disruptions on passengers over the entire year.
Iberia Express, a member of the International Airlines Group, was both the most on-time airline in Europe and the most punctual low-cost airline globally.
Within Europe, the other top performers for punctuality were Iberia, SAS, Vueling and Norwegian. In sixth place was Air Europa, followed by Austrian, Brussels Airlines, LOT Polish Airlines and Norwegian Air Sweden at number 10 with 76.04% of flights arriving on time.
In Asia-Pacific, Japan Airlines ranked ahead of All Nippon Airways, while Safair was the most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa.
Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, the gateway to Saudi Arabia’s capital, was named the most on-time global airport with 86.65% of flights departing on time. I
Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, 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.”
