Virgin Atlantic wins new award as most improved airline for on-time performance

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 2, 2026-- Aeromexico maintained a 90.02% on-time performance to claim the world's most on-time global airline title for the second consecutive year, according to Cirium's 2025 On-Time Performance Review released today.

The Mexican carrier becomes only the second airline to achieve consecutive global wins since Cirium launched the program in 2009, operating 188,859 flights across 23 countries while maintaining industry-leading schedule reliability.

Aeromexico Holds Global Lead; Regional Champions Crowned

Aeromexico secured the global airline title with 90.02% on-time performance, holding off strong competition from Saudia in second place with 86.53% and SAS with 86.09% in third. The margin between first and third place was 3.93 percentage points, reflecting the strong performance of Aeromexico in 2025.

Regional winners included:

North America: Delta Air Lines won for the fifth consecutive year with 80.90% on-time performance

Europe: Iberia Express (International Airlines Group) defended its title for the third consecutive year with 88.94% on-time performance

Asia-Pacific: Philippine Airlines claimed the regional title for the first time with 83.12% on-time performance

Latin America: Copa Airlines achieved its 11th win, the most of any airline since Cirium's program launched in 2009 with 90.75% on-time performance

Middle East and Africa: Safair topped the regional rankings with 91.06% on-time performance

Qatar Airways Wins Airline Platinum Award

Qatar Airways captured Cirium's Platinum Award, recognizing the Doha-based carrier's operational excellence across its global hub network. The airline achieved 84.42% on-time performance across more than 198,303 flights spanning six continents.

Virgin Atlantic Claims Inaugural 'Most Improved' Award

Virgin Atlantic won Cirium's new 'Most Improved' award, demonstrating the largest year-over-year operational performance gain among global carriers. The UK-based airline improved its on-time performance from 74.01% in 2024 to 83.45% in 2025—a 9.44 percentage point increase year-over-year.

The new award recognizes airlines that have achieved meaningful operational scale (minimum 70% baseline performance) while delivering substantial improvements, ensuring the honor reflects genuine operational excellence rather than recovery from poor prior performance.

Strong Global Airport Performance in 2025

Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport wins the Large Airport category, with 87.04% of flights departing on time.

Panama's Tocumen International Airport won the Medium Airport category with 93.34% of flights departing on time. Ecuador's Guayaquil José Joaquín de Olmedo International Airport claimed the Small Airport title for the second year in a row with 91.47% of flights departing on time.

Istanbul Airport won Cirium's Airport Platinum Award, which evaluates operational complexity, passenger impact during disruptions, and growth trajectory. Last year's Airport Platinum winner was El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá, Colombia.

Industry Context and Analysis

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said: "Maintaining consistent on-time performance requires sophisticated network planning, operational coordination, and the ability to recover quickly when irregularities occur. These results reflect the operational discipline that defines aviation's top performers."

"Qatar Airways' Platinum win is particularly significant because it demonstrates how a network carrier can maintain on-time performance across six continents while operating one of the industry's most complex hub structures. Their 84.42% on-time rate over 198,303 flights sets a new benchmark for network carriers. Similarly, Copa's 11th win for the Latin American category and Delta's fifth consecutive North American win, reflects sustained operational focus that separates industry leaders from competitors."

About the On-Time Performance Review

Now in its 17th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance Review analyzes flight data from over 600 real-time sources including airlines, airports, global distribution systems, and civil aviation authorities. An independent advisory board of aviation industry veterans provides oversight and guidance.

An on-time flight arrives within 14:59 minutes of scheduled gate arrival time. Airport punctuality measures flights departing within 14:59 minutes of scheduled departure time. The Platinum Awards for both airlines and airports consider operational complexity, network scale, passenger impact during disruptions, and consistency throughout the year.

The Most Improved award, introduced in 2025, requires carriers to demonstrate at least 70% baseline on-time performance in the prior year to ensure recognition reflects operational excellence rather than recovery from poor performance.

Complete 2025 Rankings

Top 10 Global Airlines

Top 10 North American Airlines

Top 10 European Airlines

Top 10 Latin American Airlines

Top 10 Asia-Pacific Airlines

Top 10 Middle East and Africa Airlines

Top 10 Large Airports

Top 10 Medium Airports

Top 10 Small Airports

Cirium's full 2025 On-Time Performance Review is available at www.cirium.com/on-time-performance

About Cirium

Cirium delivers aviation analytics that power decision-making for airlines, airports, travel companies, aircraft manufacturers, and financial institutions. The company analyzes flight data from over 600 sources globally, tracking more than 35 million flights annually to manage its OTP program.

Cirium is part of LexisNexis Risk Solutions, a RELX business that provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX PLC shares trade on the London, Amsterdam, and New York Stock Exchanges (ticker symbols: London: REL; Amsterdam: REN; New York: RELX).

For more information, visit cirium.com or follow Cirium on LinkedIn.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260102045464/en/

For Cirium media inquiries please contact media@cirium.com

Source: Cirium