Here Are the Most On-Time Airlines and Airports of 2024
by Daniel McCarthy
Salt Lake City International was the most on time North American airport. Photo: JW_PNW / Shutterstock.com
Delta Air Lines has once again been named the best-performing airline in North America for flight delays.
Cirium released its 2024 On-Time Performance Review this week, an annual report tracking the on-time arrival rate—flights arriving within 15 minutes of their scheduled arrival time—for airlines and airports globally.
Two airlines outside the U.S. and Canada topped the charts for global performance. Aeromexico ranked first with an 86.70% on-time arrival rate, followed by Saudia in second at 86.35%.
Delta Air Lines, despite a massive CrowdStrike outage that disrupted operations, ranked third globally in 2024 with an 83.46% on-time arrival rate, making it the only airline from the U.S. or Canada in the global top five. LATAM Airlines came in fourth with 82.89%, and Qatar Airways ranked fifth at 82.83%.
In North America, 2024 marked Delta’s fourth consecutive year as the regional leader, solidifying its status as the gold standard for airline performance. The achievement is particularly notable given the CrowdStrike outage, which led to more than 6,000 flight cancellations.
Two other airlines came within five percentage points of Delta’s performance regionally—United Airlines ranked second at 80.83%, and Alaska Airlines placed third at 79.25%. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines rounded out the top five at 77.78% and 77.77%, respectively.
Best Airports for Delays
Just as Delta was the only U.S. or Canadian carrier in the top five globally, Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) was the sole regional airport to make Cirium’s global top five.
SLC ranked fourth globally, with 83.80% of flights departing on time, making it the best-performing airport in North America in 2024.
The global top five also included Riyadh King Khalid International Airport (RUH) in Saudi Arabia, leading the list at 86.65% on-time performance; Lima Jorge Chavez International Airport (LIM) in Peru, second at 84.57%; Mexico City Benito Juarez International Airport (MEX), third at 84.04%; and Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport (SCL) in Chile, fifth at 82.84%.
