Qatar Airways placed fifth globally with an on-time arrival rate of 84.42 per cent across more than 198,000 flights spanning six continents, while also taking Cirium’s Airline Platinum Award. The award accounts for network scale and complexity, as well as how effectively airlines manage disruption, recognizing the challenge of maintaining reliability across a global hub operation.
Regional rankings further reinforce the strength of carriers operating in and around the Middle East. Safair led the Middle East and Africa category with a 91.06 percent on-time arrival rate, followed closely by Royal Jordanian. Saudi Arabia also featured prominently, with Flyadeal and Saudia both placing within the regional top four, while Oman Air and Etihad Airways appeared in the top ten.
North America’s most punctual airlines
- Delta Air Lines — 80.9%
- Alaska Airlines — 79.2%
- Spirit Airlines — 78.83%
- United Airlines — 78.77%
- Southwest Airlines — 77.04%
- American Airlines — 76.43%
- JetBlue — 74.66%
- WestJet — 73.58%
- Air Canada — 73.26%
- Frontier Airlines — 72.14%
Other notable findings
Elsewhere, the review highlighted meaningful shifts in Europe, where Virgin Atlantic was named the most improved airline globally. The carrier raised its on-time performance from 74.01 percent in 2024 to 83.45 percent in 2025, a year-on-year increase that reflects sustained operational progress rather than short-term recovery.
Airports were also assessed as part of the review, with Chile’s Santiago Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport topping the Large Airport category, and Tocumen International Airport and Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport leading the medium and small airport rankings, respectively. Cirium’s Airport Platinum Award went to Istanbul Airport, recognised for maintaining reliability amid rapid growth and rising passenger volumes.
A version of this story originally appeared on Condé Nast Traveller Middle East.
