What was the world’s busiest airline — and airport — in 2024?
New numbers released to kick off the new year offer some answers.
Aeromexico has emerged as the global winner, according to data released Thursday by aviation analytics firm Sirius.
In 2024, about 87% of the Mexico City-based carrier’s flights arrived at their destinations on time.
Closely following Aeromexico in third place, two places behind, was Delta Air Lines, which was the top U.S. carrier for on-time performance last year, Sirium said.
Here’s a quick rundown of the top-performing airlines, as well as the major airports that see the highest on-time rates — featuring one of the most popular US cities for vacationers.
Airlines with the most time in 2024
To calculate the world’s top performing airlines, Cerium uses a widely accepted industry standard: the percentage of flights that arrive at their destination within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time.
Here’s how global airlines stack up:
- Aeromexico (86.7%)
- Saudi (86.3%)
- Delta (83.5%)
Notably, Panama City-based Copa Airlines actually outperformed Aeromexico, with 88% of its flights arriving on time. However, Copa doesn’t technically meet Cerium’s global network criteria for that ranking — though Star Alliance Airlines took the crown among Latin American carriers.
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Airlines with the longest flights in the US
The top US airlines for on-time performance in 2024 include:
- Delta
- United Airlines (80.9%)
- Alaska Airlines (79.3%)
Delta’s top ranking among US airlines came despite a mid-July slowdown following a global technology outage in the crowdstrike, which saw the Atlanta-based carrier. Cancel thousands of flights over a five-day period.
Still, its full-year performance is still ahead of its closest U.S. competitors, Sirium said.
“His recovery was fantastic, as he was at 91% within a month of the whole problem. [on-time flights] in August,” said Mike Malik, Cerium’s chief marketing officer.
Delta was the top-performing carrier in TPG’s Best US Airlines 2024 report released last spring. We’ll finally have to see how Delta stacks up when we crunch the numbers again this year.
Other regions of the world
Iberia Express, the regional subsidiary of Madrid-based Iberia, ranks first among European airlines in on-time performance in 2024, Cirium announced.
The major Spanish flag carrier is second, followed by Scandinavian Airlines, which became the newest member of the SkyTeam alliance in 2024 after the financial crisis.
“SAS is also making big strides and investments in IT and technology and fleet,” Malik noted.
Japan Airlines was the top performer in the Asia Pacific region, narrowly edging out Japanese rival All Nippon Airways.
Read more: Japan Airlines launches A350-1000 from New York to Tokyo: Same great service, fabulous new seats
South Africa-based Safair leads the rankings in the Middle East/Africa region.
World’s top airports for on-time operations
Sirium also compiled a ranking for the world’s best airports for on-time departures.
In the big hub, here’s how the top three fared in 2024:
- King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- Daniel K. in Honolulu. Inouye International Airport (HNL).
- Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) in Lima, Peru.
Honolulu’s airport is the largest airport in Hawaii, serving as an important connection for interisland flights in the state and also as a gateway to Asia. It is also a new global hub for the newly merged airline that includes the Alaska Airlines and Hawaiian Airlines brands.
Panama City’s Tocumen International Airport (PTY) was the world’s best medium-sized airport for on-time flights, Sirium said, with Ecuador’s Jose Joaquin de Olmedo International Airport (GYE) leading among smaller airports.
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