Airlines reduced the number of cancellations and delays across the world during September, as the industry seemed to be “returning to normal” after a turbulent summer dominated by disruption to flights.
The latest Airline On-Time Performance Report, compiled by aviation data specialist Cirium, found that the industry’s operations had reached a level of “calmness” in September after months of negative headlines.
“After a challenging summer travel season for the industry, things seem to be returning to normal,” said Cirium in its report.
“Airlines are back completing their scheduled flights with minimal cancellations - with some exceptions, notably Hurricane Ian in the US - and delivering travellers to their destinations on-time.”
In Europe, Norwegian took top spot for on-time performance in September with a score of 83.9 per cent – taking over from Spanish carrier Iberia (81.5 per cent), which had been the best-performing European airline during the previous three months.
The next three best-performing airlines in Europe were Air Europa (81.1 per cent), Finnair (80.6 per cent) and SAS (79.7 per cent).
In North America, Delta had the best on-time performance at 89.2 per cent followed by United Airlines (86.9 per cent).
Japan Airlines (JAL) was the best global mainline performer for punctuality at 91 per cent, closely followed by its Japanese rival ANA at 90 per cent.