Muscat – Oman Air has been ranked as the leader in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) for its on-time performance in 2022.

The Cirium 2022 On-Time Performance Review – the global gold standard for airline and airport performance – reported the excellent performance of Oman’s state-run airline against all odds that the global aviation sector faced during 2022.

An on-time flight is that which arrives within 15 minutes of the scheduled gate arrival. For an airport, it is when a flight departs within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure.

The past year saw a challenging operational environment across the world, particularly in Europe and North America, with many airlines and airports experiencing delays, disruptions and resource challenges, while others continued to emerge from COVID-19 restrictions, especially in the Asia Pacific region. Despite this climate, many airlines and airports worldwide excelled, stated the Cirium report.

For the second consecutive year, Delta Air Lines was honoured with the Cirium Platinum Award for global operational excellence. ‘The award considers a number of factors including on-time performance, operational complexity and an airline’s ability to limit the impact of flight disruptions on its passengers.’

Azul Brazilian Airlines was globally the best in on-time performance with the winners in the other regions of the world being Delta Air Lines in North America, Iberia – the flag carrier airline of Spain – for Europe, Azul for Latin America and Thai AirAsia in Asia Pacific.
StarFlyer was the leading low cost carrier and Haneda was the top airport performer globally.

Jeremy Bowen, Cirium CEO, said, “Ramping back up operations so quickly after an enforced slowdown is not easy to do and the top-ranked airlines in Cirium’s 2022 On-Time Performance Review deserve their recognition for this well-orchestrated achievement.

“Congratulations to Delta Air Lines for its excellent performance, as well as Oman Air for its success in MEA region, getting its passengers to their destinations on time as the sector revived during 2022.”