The world's most punctual airlines for 2025 have been unveiled in a major industry report, with Mexico's national carrier retaining its crown and a British airline making significant strides.
Global Leaders in Punctuality
Aviation analytics firm Cirium has published its influential 17th annual On-Time Performance Review, identifying the airlines most likely to depart and arrive as scheduled. The benchmark for an on-time flight is an arrival within 14 minutes and 35 seconds of its scheduled gate time.
Topping the global table for the second year running was Aeromexico, which achieved an impressive 90.02% on-time performance across 188,859 operated flights. In second place was Saudia, the national airline of Saudi Arabia, with a rate of 86.53%. Scandinavian airline SAS secured third place globally, with over 86% of its operations departing on time.
Regional Champions and a Standout UK Performer
The report also highlighted leading carriers in key markets. In North America, Delta Air Lines was named the most punctual for the fifth consecutive year, with a performance of 80.90%. In Europe, Iberia Express led the way with 88.94%.
The standout story from a UK perspective was Virgin Atlantic. The airline earned the title of "most improved" carrier for 2025. Its punctuality score jumped to 83.45%, marking a substantial 9.44 percentage point increase from its 74.01% result in 2024.
Operational Excellence Awards
Beyond the core rankings, Cirium awarded its prestigious Platinum Award to Qatar Airways. This recognised the Doha-based carrier's "operational excellence across its global hub network". Qatar achieved an on-time performance of 84.42% across a vast network of 198,303 flights.
Jeremy Bowen, CEO of Cirium, commented on the results. "Maintaining consistent on-time performance requires sophisticated network planning, operational coordination, and the ability to recover quickly when irregularities occur," he said. "These results reflect the operational discipline that defines aviation's top performers."
He specifically praised Qatar Airways, noting its ability to maintain high standards across six continents with a complex hub structure, setting a new benchmark for network carriers.
The report also identified top-performing airports, with Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport winning the large airport category, seeing 87.04% of flights depart on time.
