The Mexican airline Aeromexico has been recognized for achieving the highest rate of on-time arrivals globally in 2024, as per an annual evaluation published on Thursday. Delta Air Lines led among its American counterparts, despite experiencing a significant computer failure that led to numerous canceled flights during the month of July.
According to the aviation data organization Cirium, Aeromexico managed an impressive on-time arrival rate of nearly 87%, with flights arriving within a quarter of an hour of their scheduled times, which is a common standard for evaluating airline punctuality.
Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, secured the second position on the global scale, boasting an on-time performance of slightly above 86%, as reported by Cirium.
For the past 16 years, Cirium has been assessing airlines based on their punctuality. Jeremy Bowen, the CEO of Cirium, noted that 2024 presented numerous challenges for airlines, including extreme weather conditions and technological setbacks during summer months. Therefore, the airlines that maintained high performance deserved commendation for ensuring that most travelers reached their destinations on time, according to Bowen.
Delta Air Lines, which operates out of Atlanta, reported an on-time rate exceeding 83%, placing it third in the world rankings. Other notable U.S. airlines included United Airlines, with nearly 81% on-time performance, and Alaska Airlines, which finished with just over 79%.
In contrast, Canadian carriers fared less favorably, with WestJet, Air Canada, and the budget airline Frontier based in Denver all landing at the lower end of the ranking, displaying below 72% for on-time arrivals.
Among regional leaders identified by Cirium, Japan Airlines, the budget-friendly Iberia Express from Spain, Copa Airlines from Panama, and South African carrier FlySafair were recognized for their punctuality.
The title for the best airport for on-time departures in 2024 went to King Khalid International Airport located in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where nearly 87% of flights managed to depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled time. Following closely were Jorge Chavez International Airport in Lima, Peru, and Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport, both achieving departure success rates exceeding 84%.
Delta’s noteworthy performance came despite setbacks due to a system failure linked to a problematic software upgrade from the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, which affected Microsoft systems worldwide during July. Delta has initiated legal action against CrowdStrike, asserting that the incident led to an estimated loss of $500 million for the airline. In its defense, CrowdStrike has highlighted that other airlines were able to bounce back from the disturbance much more swiftly.
