The aviation analytics company Cirium has published its monthly on-time performance (OTP) report, which reveals that global flight cancellations increased by 20% in June, largely due to “geopolitical tensions” in the Middle East last month, which affected Middle Eastern and European airlines.
Disruption Across the Aviation Sector
Flights in Europe and the Middle East faced disruption and cancellation during the 12-day conflict between Israel and Iran as airspace restrictions were put in place for passenger and crew safety. Flights bound for the major international hubs, Hamad International Airport (DOH) in Doha and Dubai International Airport (DXB) were rerouted or cancelled. The Middle East faced the worst disruption, with the figures for flight cancellations increasing by 200%, from 2,500 cancellations in May to almost 7,700 in June. Major Gulf airlines Emirates and Qatar Airways were greatly affected, only reaching OTP figures of 71.5% and 73.1% respectively.
In Europe, the number of cancelled flights rose by 27%, from just under 6,500 services cancelled in May to 8,215 in June. Lufthansa and Air France were among the worst-affected European airlines last month.
North America also saw a 32% increase in flight cancellations due to severe thunderstorms, flash flooding and other inclement weather conditions. The Asia Pacific region did, however, see a decrease in cancellations of 5% from the previous month. Globally, the number of flights cancelled in June 2025 was 55,278, up from 46,138 in May.
Some Positive News for Airlines despite Flight Cancellations
Despite the disruption in the Middle East, the aviation analytics firm also announced that Saudia was the world’s most punctual airline in June with an OTP of 91.3%, followed by Thai AirAsia with 87.7% and Brazilian airline Azul with 86.3%. Meanwhile, in Europe, the top four airlines for on-time performance were Icelandair (85.8%), SAS (85.3%), Turkish Airlines (83.8%) and Spanish low-cost carrier Vueling (81.8%).
Did you face disruption on your travels last month? Let us know in the comments.
