CNN
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It may come as no surprise to anyone who took a vacation this year, but the United Nations has officially announced that global tourism will return to pre-pandemic levels in 2024.
Amid this year’s stowaway passengers, creative efforts in the area of attempted contraband smuggling, and other aviation drama, there is some good news. Aviation analytics firm Cirium has compiled its annual ranking of airlines and airports with the best on-time performance records.
Flying can be stressful for many reasons, but having information about which flights you’re most likely to connect to can alleviate some of your pre-trip anxiety.
Cirium’s data is broken down by region and airport or airline size (based on annual passenger numbers).
“On time” here means that the scheduled flight arrives or departs within 14:59 of the scheduled arrival time.
Thinking about signing up for a loyalty program? The three most punctual airlines this year are all members of the SkyTeam alliance: Aeromexico, Saudia Airlines, and Delta Air Lines.
Aeromexico and Delta Air Lines are both founding members of the alliance and have been part of it since SkyTeam was launched in 2000.
Saudia, Saudi Arabia’s flag carrier, is a new entrant to this group. However, the company has big ambitions to grow over the next 10 years as part of the country’s larger tourism strategy. Earlier this year, Saudia ordered 105 Airbus aircraft, almost doubling the airline’s transport capacity.
Japan’s two largest airlines ranked in the top two for immediacy in the Asia-Pacific region, with Japan Airlines (JAL) taking gold and All Nippon Airways (ANA) taking silver. The difference between the two was just four-tenths of a percentage point.
Singapore Airlines ranked third in the region. It has been awarded the World’s Best Airline award five times by Skytrax, the “Oscar of the aviation industry.”
South African-based low-cost airline Safair was crowned the most punctual airline in the MENA region, followed by Oman Air and Royal Jordanian.
In Europe, Madrid-based Iberia took second place, with its low-cost subsidiary Iberia Express taking first place.
And in the North American category, Delta Air Lines took top honors, followed by United Airlines and Alaska Airlines.
In Latin America, Colombia-based Copa became the most punctual airline, earning that honor for the second year in a row.
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In addition to ranking individual airlines, Cirium analyzes data on airports around the world.
Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH) took top honors in the large airport category and overall victory. Second and third place overall went to Peru’s Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) and Mexico City’s Benito Juárez International Airport (MEX).
Among large airports, Riyadh and Mexico City ranked first and third, respectively, with Hawaii’s Honolulu International Airport (HNL) coming in second.
The top three medium-sized airports were Panama Tocumen International Airport (PTY), Osaka Itami International Airport (ITM), and Brasilia International Airport (BSB). In the small airport category, the most punctual were Guayaquil Jose Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport (GYE), Quito Mariscal Sucre International Airport (UIO), and El Salvador International Airport (SAL).
While these statistics are impressive, there are always a few things to keep in mind when it comes to rankings like the ones compiled by Cirium. This means that many delays are not the fault of individual airlines or airports. Weather can have a big impact, and rising temperatures caused by human-induced climate change are likely to make the coming years even more difficult.
1. Aeromexico
2.Saudia
3. Delta Airlines
4. Latin American Airlines
5. Qatar Airways
6. Azul Airlines
7. Avianca Airlines
8. Iberia
9. Scandinavian Airlines (SAS)
10. United Airlines
1. Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH)
2. Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM)
3. Mexico City Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX)
4. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
5. Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport (SCL)
6. Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP)
7. Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD)
8. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW)
9. Oslo Gardermoen Airport (OSL)
10. Doha Hamad International Airport (DOH)
