Iberia has been named the most punctual in Europe in 2022, as ranked by Cirium, the global aviation analytics leader, as part of the annual On-Time Performance Review, which recognises excellence in airline and airport performance worldwide.
According to Cirium’s report, the Madrid-based carrier was the top-performing airline in Europe for six consecutive months across 2022, from May to October. The data shows that out of a total of 91,154 flights, 85.87% arrived on time at their destination. Ranking just below Iberia was Air Europa, the third-largest Spanish airline, which showed on-time arrival for 84.10% of their 48,163 flights.
A Challenging Operational Environment
Iberia’s top rankings were achieved during a time when the global aviation industry was facing a number of difficult challenges. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, the sudden resurgence in demand has placed significant pressure on airlines, airports, air navigation providers, and other stakeholders. Issues such as understaffing and insufficient capacity have been particularly problematic and often resulted in delays and cancellations, especially across Europe. Cirium’s rankings demonstrate how operations have improved in the last year as the industry has encouraged hiring more workers and adjusted capacity.
Javier Sánchez-Prieto, Iberia’s president, stated in response to the recent ranking: “Punctuality is one of the most cherished values for our customers, so this award is a great pride for us and a recognition for the great work of each and every employee who make our planes take off and land on time. Congratulations to the entire Iberia team that has worked together for a common goal.”
Jeremy Bowen, Cirium’s CEO, similarly congratulated the best-ranked airlines for their performance during difficult circumstances: “Ramping back up operations so quickly after an enforced slowdown is not easy to do and the top-ranked airlines and airports in Cirium’s 2022 On-Time Performance Review deserve their recognition for this well-orchestrated achievement.”.
Cirium’s Global Rankings
Other leaders in on-time performance include Azul Airlines, who have been named the global gold standard, with 88.93% of their total flights arriving in the required time. Delta Airlines, the US legacy carrier, has also been recognised for its excellency, and have been awarded the Cirium Platinum Award for global operational excellence for the second year in a row. This award takes into account a range of factors including on-time performance, operational complexity, and the airline’s ability to limit the impact of flight disruption on passengers.
Cirium’s report is designed to provide industry stakeholders with an up-to-date, neutral, and reliable perspective, which is based on a large pool of data collected from more than 600 sources of real-time flight information. This data is then backed and collated by an independent board of industry experts. More in-depth results from Cirium’s recent report are available on their website.
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