In an increasingly crowded and complex global aviation environment, on-time performance has become a key marker of airline reliability. Taking this into account, aviation analytics firm Cirium has released its 2025 On-Time Performance Review, ranking airlines and airports across regions based on punctual arrivals and departures.
According to Cirium, an on-time arrival is defined as a flight reaching the gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled arrival time, while on-time departures are measured using the same 15-minute threshold. These metrics form the basis of the annual rankings.
The report crowned several global and regional winners:
Qatar Airways was named Platinum Winner, achieving 84.42% on-time performance across over 198,000 flights.
Aeromexico retained its title as the World’s Most Punctual Global Airline for the second straight year, with 90.02% punctuality.
Philippine Airlines led the Asia-Pacific region overall.
Delta Air Lines topped North America.
Iberia Express remained Europe’s most punctual airline.
Copa Airlines led Latin America.
FlySafair topped the Middle East and Africa category.
Virgin Atlantic was recognised as Most Improved Airline of 2025.
Among the Asia-Pacific rankings, India’s largest airline, IndiGo, secured the sixth position. The airline recorded a 78.12% on-time arrival rate across 802,418 flights in 2025.
This recognition comes despite a highly publicised operational crisis in December 2025, when mass cancellations and delays disrupted travel plans for thousands of passengers. Cirium’s report notes that IndiGo performed strongly for most of the year, maintaining on-time rates above 80% between June and October. The dip in performance towards year-end was attributed largely to revised flight crew duty regulations introduced in early December, which forced the airline to temporarily cancel and reset several operations.
The report also highlighted airports that excelled despite rising congestion:
Istanbul Airport won Cirium’s Airport Platinum Award, becoming Europe’s first airport to operate triple independent parallel runways.
Arturo Merino Benítez International Airport topped the Large Airport category.
Tocumen International Airport led the Medium Airport segment.
José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport ranked first among Small Airports.
With global air travel facing staffing shortages, airspace constraints and regulatory changes, maintaining punctuality has become harder than ever. IndiGo’s inclusion in the Asia-Pacific top 10 underscores how operational consistency across most of the year can still earn global recognition — even when short-term disruptions grab headlines.
For travellers, the rankings serve as a useful benchmark when choosing airlines and airports where time truly matters.
