According to Cirium‘s yearly evaluation of the top international airlines in the globe for on-time performance, South Africa’s Safair and Kenya Airways emerged as two of the MEA region’s most punctual carriers in 2023.
Kenya Airways held the tenth position on the list with an excellent on-time arrival rate of 71.86%, while Safair won the second slot with an incredible 92.36% on-time arrival rate.
Arriving within 14 minutes and 59 seconds of the airline’s planned arrival time is what Cirium considers to be “on-time”. To be categorized as a “global” airline, the carriers must also fulfill certain capacity and network standards.
Oman Air (WY) took first place in the MEA standings with an exceptional 92.53% on-time arrival performance. Remarkably, only Oman and Safair airlines had an on-time arrival rate of over 90% in the survey.
Other MEA winners for Cirium in 2023 include Royal Jordanian, which had an 87.51% on-time arrival rate; Qatar Airways, which achieved 85.11%; Etihad Airways, which achieved 82.90%; Saudia, which achieved 89.21%; Middle East Airlines, which achieved 79.15%; Emirates, which achieved 78.48%; and Kuwait Airways, which achieved 73.18%.
The “complexity of its operations and capacity to provide more benefit to passengers and airports,” according to Cirium CEO Jeremy Bowen, was another factor taken into consideration when choosing the winner in addition to punctuality.
Colombia’s Avianca Airlines won the distinction of being the most reliable airline in the world, with an 85.73% on-time arrival rate. More than 600 distinct sources provided the data for the assessment.
Both Safair from South Africa and Kenya Airways were among the 10 best-performing airlines in Africa in 2023, according to a separate report by Skytrax.
Safair (South Africa)
- On-time ranking: 2
- On-time arrival: 92.36%
- Tracked flight: 88.81%
- Completion factor: 99.91%
- Total flights 55,444
Although FlySafair only began operations in October 2014, its parent firm Safair has an impressive 50-year history. The head office of this budget airline is located in Johannesburg, South Africa. With 22 aircraft in all, five of them are B734 classics and the rest are B738 NGs, according to the business.
Kenya Airways (Kenya)
- On-time ranking: 10
- On-time arrival: 71.86%
- Tracked flight: 86.13%
- Completion Factor: 98.09%
- Total flights: 41, 905
Since its founding in 1977, Kenya Airways, also recognized by its IATA code KQ, has proudly represented Kenya. With a fleet of more than 40 aircraft, including Boeing and Embraer models, the airline can guarantee its customers safe and comfortable travel.