Indoor waterfalls, rooftop pools, yoga studios.
Airports have many bells and whistles these days. But most travelers would gladly trade them for flights that consistently arrive on time.
The passenger rights company AirHelp ranked 239 airports in 69 countries, with an emphasis on the on-time performance of flights operating from May 2023 to April 2024.
That measure accounted for 60% of each airport’s total score, with on-time performance defined as flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their published arrival times.
Passenger opinions of each airport, along with traveler ratings of its food and shops, accounted for the remaining 40% of the score, according to AirHelp’s website.
Here are the results.
Best airports for on-time flights
However, a different list emerges by isolating on-time performance scores — one dominated by South Africa, Colombia, Brazil and the United States:
- Cape Town Airport, South Africa — 8.6
- Brasília–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek Airport, Brazil — 8.6
- Panama City Tocumen Airport, Panama — 8.6
- Nagoya Chubu Airport, Japan — 8.5
- Osaka Itami Airport, Japan — 8.5
- Salt Lake City Airport, United States — 8.4
- Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, United States — 8.4
- Doha Hamad Airport, Qatar — 8.3
- Belém Val-de-Cans Airport, Brazil — 8.3
- Bogotá El Dorado Airport, Colombia — 8.3
- Cartagena Rafael Núñez Airport, Colombia — 8.3
- Medellin Jose Maria Cordova Airport, Colombia — 8.3
- Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport, South Africa — 8.2
- Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre Airport, Brazil — 8.2
- Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, United States — 8.2
Those scores represent the percentage of flights that arrive on-time, according to AirHelp’s website.
“For example, a score of 8.5 means 85% of flights were on time,” it states.
Conversely, the airports with the worst on-time performance averages are Tunisia’s Tunis Carthage Airport (48% on-time average), London Gatwick Airport (57%) and Portugal’s Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (58%), according to the ranking.
To obtain the scores, AirHelp said it cross-referenced data from government agencies, airports and flight-tracking vendors.
In general, on-time performance is linked to the operations of airlines and airports, according to the flight analytics company OAG.
However, other factors are at play too.
“Inevitably, external disruption such as adverse weather conditions, congestion, incidents, and industrial action can cause delays,” according to the company’s website.
Still, on-time performance is a powerful indicator for airlines and airports to differentiate and market their brands, according to OAG.
Other accolades
When passenger opinion scores were isolated, Nashville Airport, Singapore Changi Airport and Doha Hamad Airport emerged on top, according to the ranking.
Doha Hamad, which ranked No. 1 overall, also commands the top score for its food and shops, followed by Dubai Airport and Japan’s Sapporo New Chitose Airport.
Hamad International Airport was also named the “World’s Best Airline” by the air transport rating firm Skytrax in April.
The full ranking of 239 airlines is available on AirHelp’s website.