REVEALED: 10 most punctual airlines in Middle East, Africa

Oman Air has come out tops in a ranking of the most punctual, on-time airlines in the Middle East and Africa.

This is according to the latest 2023 ‘On-Time Performance Review’ report by global aviation analytics provider, Cirium, which says an on-time flight is defined as a flight that arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival. The report, which is now in its 15th year, hinges its data and analytics on more than 600 sources of real-time flight information

And delving further into its latest report, Cirium listed the following ten airlines as being the most punctual in the Middle East and Africa.

1. Oman Air (Oman) 92.53 per cent
2. Safair (South Africa) 92.36 per cent
3. Royal Jordanian (Jordan) 87.51 per cent
4. Qatar Airways (Qatar) 85.11 per cent
5. Etihad Airways (UAE) 82.90 per cent
6. Saudia (Saudi Arabia) 81.29 per cent
7. Middle East Airlines (Lebanon) 79.15 per cent
8. Emirates (UAE) 78.48 per cent
9. Kuwait Airways (Kuwait) 73.18 per cent
10. Kenya Airways (Kenya) 71.86 per cent

“To meet the rising demand in tourism, the airline launched an expanded network and schedule in 2023, with significant frequency increases on existing routes, and the addition of new destinations— representing a 60 per cent increase in the number of flights from Muscat compared to last year,” said Lydia Webb, a marketing director at Cirium.

“Oman Air also took delivery of a new Boeing 737 MAX 8 from CDB Aviation in 2023 – a total fleet size of 52 aircraft. The 737 Max 8 is configured with 12 Business and 150 Economy Class seats to support the airline’s expanding network. The expanded network, schedule and fleet demonstrate Oman Air’s ongoing efforts to contribute to the economy of the Sultanate of Oman while also exhibiting its drive for increased global reach. The airline’s anticipated oneworld Alliance membership in 2024, will help broaden its network’s global reach and provide travelers with greater travel options and other benefits,” said Webb.

The likes of Oman Air have seemingly competed well in terms of punctuality with Cirium also revealing its global rankings. Here, Colombia’s Avianca Airlines scored an 85.73 per cent on-time arrival among 213,039 flights. Brazil’s Azul Airlines scored an 85.51 per cent on-time arrival score among its 310,972 flights. US-based Delta Airlines, meanwhile, had an 84.72 per cent score amid its 1,635,486 flights, while Spain’s Iberia came in at 84.38 per cent among its 170,750 flights.

Meanwhile, the report has also looked at the world’s top performing airports when it comes to punctuality. Here, punctuality is defined in terms of flights departing within 15 minutes of their scheduled departure. Listed below is the list of the world’s top airports in this regard: