Airports in the modern era offer many amenities. But most travelers would happily trade them for flights that always arrive on time.
Passenger rights company AirHelp assessed 239 airports in 69 countries, focusing on on-time performance from May 2023 to April 2024. According to CNBC, on-time performance accounts for 60% of each airport's overall score, with the term “timeliness” is defined as flights arriving within 15 minutes of the published arrival time.
According to AirHelp, passenger opinions of each airport, as well as traveler ratings of food and shopping in the terminal, accounted for the remaining 40% of the score. However, when looking at just punctuality, airports in South Africa, Colombia, Brazil and the United States lead the way, meaning that these countries have the most on-time flights:
1. Cape Town Airport, South Africa – 8.6.
2. Brasilia-President Juscelino Kubitschek Airport, Brazil – 8.6.
3. Panama City Tocumen Airport, Panama – 8.6.
4. Nagoya Chubu Airport, Japan – 8.5.
5. Osaka Itami Airport, Japan – 8.5.
6. Salt Lake City Airport, USA – 8.4.
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, USA – 8.4
8. Hamad Airport in Doha, Qatar – 8.3.
9. Belem Val de Cans Airport, Brazil – 8.3.
10. Bogota-El Dorado Airport, Colombia – 8.3.
11. Cartagena Rafael Nunez Airport, Colombia – 8.3.
12. Medellin Jose Maria Cordova Airport, Colombia – 8.3.
13. Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport, South Africa – 8.2.
14. Recife/Guararapes-Gilberto Freyre Airport, Brazil – 8.2
15. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, USA – 8.2.
According to AirHelp, these ratings represent the percentage of flights that arrived on time. “For example, a rating of 8.5 means that 85% of flights were on time,” the post says.
Conversely, the airports with the worst average on-time performance are Carthage in Tunisia (48% average completion rate), London Gatwick (57%) and Humberto Delgado in Lisbon, Portugal (58%)according to the rating data.
AirHelp said it cross-referenced government and airport data to arrive at its estimates. According to flight analytics firm OAG, on-time arrivals are generally tied to airline and airport performance. But other factors play a role. “Inevitably, external influences such as adverse weather conditions, congestion, incidents and labor strikes can cause delays,” the company says on its website.
However, OAG believes that flight punctuality is a powerful indicator for airlines and airports to differentiate and promote their brands.
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