Aeromexico repeats as most on-time global airline | News
Aeromexico maintained an on-time performance of 90.02%, claiming the title of most punctual airline in the world for the second consecutive year, according to Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2025 published today.
The Mexican airline becomes only the second airline to achieve consecutive global wins since Cirium launched the program in 2009, operating 188,859 flights in 23 countries while remaining industry-leading in the reliability of its schedules.
Aeromexico has world leadership; Regional champions crowned
Aeromexico secured the title of global airline with 90.02% on-time performance, fending off strong competition from Saudia in second place with 86.53% and SAS in third place with 86.09%. The margin between first and third place was 3.93 percentage points, reflecting Aeromexico’s strong performance in 2025.
Regional winners included:
North America: Delta Air Lines won for the fifth year in a row with a time performance of 80.90%
Europe: Iberia Express (International Airlines Group) defended its title for the third year in a row with an 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 the launch of the Cirium program 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 has won Cirium’s Platinum Award, recognizing the Doha-based airline’s operational excellence across its global hub network. The airline achieved an on-time performance of 84.42% on more than 198,303 flights across six continents.
Virgin Atlantic claims inaugural ‘Most Improved’ Award
Virgin Atlantic has won Cirium’s new ‘Most Improved’ award, demonstrating the largest year-over-year operational performance gains among global airlines. The British airline improved its on-time performance from 74.01% in 2024 to 83.45% in 2025 – an increase of 9.44 percentage points year-on-year.
The new award recognizes airlines that have achieved meaningful operational scale (at least 70% baseline performance) while delivering substantial improvements, making the honor a reflection of true operational excellence rather than recovery from poor previous performance.
Strong global airport performance by 2025
Santiago Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport wins the Major Airports 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 has won the Airport Platinum Award from Cirium, 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, CEO of Cirium, said: “Maintaining consistent, on-time performance requires advanced network planning, operational coordination and the ability to quickly recover when anomalies occur. These results reflect the operational discipline that defines aviation’s top performers.”
“Qatar Airways’ Platinum win is particularly significant as it demonstrates how a network carrier can continue to deliver on-time performance on six continents while operating one of the most complex hub structures in the industry. Their 84.42% on-time performance on 198,303 flights sets a new benchmark for network carriers. Likewise, Copa’s 11th win for the Latin America category and Delta’s fifth consecutive win in North America reflect a sustained operational focus that separates market leaders from competitors.”
About the timely performance appraisal
Now in its 17th year, the Cirium On-Time Performance Review analyzes flight data from more than 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 at the gate within 14:59 minutes of its scheduled arrival time. Airport punctuality measures flights that depart within 14:59 minutes of the scheduled departure time. The Platinum Awards for both airlines and airports take into account operational complexity, network scale, passenger impact during disruptions and consistency throughout the year.
The Most Improved Award, introduced in 2025, requires airlines to demonstrate at least 70% of on-time performance in the previous year to ensure the recognition reflects operational excellence rather than recovery from poor performance.
Cirium’s full On-Time Performance Review 2025 is available at www.cirium.com/on-time-performance
