Iberia is 2022’s Most Punctual Airline in Europe

According to Cirium, an airline analyst, Spanish airline Iberia delivered the best on-time performance (OTP) in 2022 among all the major European airlines.

A part of IAG (International Airlines Group), Iberia had 85.9% OTP, surpassing Air Europa (84.1%), its Spanish rival, and Iberia Express (83.8%), its own low-cost subsidiary. Vueling, another Spanish airline owned by IAG, had the fourth-best OTP in Europe, 82%.

Last year, Austria Airlines had the highest OTP in Europe (82%), followed by Norwegian, ITA Airways, Finnair, and LOT Polish Airlines.

If a flight arrives at the airport gate within 15 minutes of its scheduled time, it is considered to be on time.

Globally, Brazilian airline Azul (88.9%) had the highest OTP, followed by Air Nippon Airways (88.5%) and Japan Airlines (88%).

With 79.8%, Madrid's Barajas airport is ranked the 13th most punctual airport worldwide for on-time flight performance across Europe. Oslo in Norway was the only other European airport in the top 20, ranking 19th with 77.6% OTP.

Haneda Airport (90.3%) in Tokyo scored the highest in punctuality, followed by Kempegowda International (84.1%) in Bengaluru (India), and Salt Lake City (83.9%) in the United States.

According to Cirium's data, airlines worldwide operated 31 million scheduled flights in 2022, an increase of 26% from 2021, and seat capacity increased by 32% during the same period.

However, the aviation industry across the globe is still below the pre-pandemic levels. Flight departures are 19% less than the 2019 levels with total flights 16% lower during 2022’s fourth quarter as compared to three years ago.

In 2022, European flights were still 25% lower than in 2019, but this did not help enhance OTP because the industry was struggling to rebuild its post-pandemic capabilities.

According to Cirium's analysis of the European market, "less traffic means less congestion at most airports and generally more favourable conditions for on-time arrivals."

“However, nothing in commercial aviation is as straightforward as this, particularly in light of the confluence of circumstances that included a pandemic, war, political violence, inflation, energy shortages, and international sanctions against Russia.”

“Staffing issues, such as three-to-four-hour security wait times across major airports, fewer crews available to cover expanding schedules, understaffed airside services, etc., have been major hurdles to smooth operations during the recovery.”

The global rankings of Crirum comprise carriers carrying the top 10% of passenger airlines in terms of seats, flights, and available seat kilometres. Plus, the airlines are serving a minimum of three global regions. Additionally, the company has also shared the regional ranking of carriers, including those not meeting all the criteria.