How Punctual Were Low-Cost Airlines in May 2026?

Asia dominates the global LCC (Low-Cost Carrier) punctuality rankings, while Wizz Air emerges as the standout performer among the 20 largest carriers by volume.

Low-cost carriers collectively operated more than 760,000 arrivals in May 2026, achieving a global average on-time performance (OTP) of 78.9% and an average cancellation rate of just 0.6%. Against a busy early-summer backdrop, that headline figure conceals considerable variation: the most punctual budget carrier in the world hit 92.2%, whilst others sat well below the industry average.

The global top 20

Six carriers achieved OTP of 90% or above in May, and eight of the top ten are based in Asia. South Korea's Jeju Airlines tops the list, with 92.2% of its 6,682 arrivals on time and zero cancellations in the month.

Norwegian Air Shuttle is the most punctual European LCC across the full global ranking, with 91.4% of flights on time, placing it second globally. It is closely followed by China's Jiangxi Air (91.4%), Japan's Solaseed (90.8%), and Indonesia's Citilink (90.7%). Chile's Sky Airline is the lone Latin American representative in the top six, reaching 90.1%.

The top 20 largest LCCs: Wizz Air leads on punctuality

Looking at the carriers with the highest volumes (over 10,000 flights in the month) a different picture emerges. The 20 largest LCCs together account for 80% of all LCC arrivals, and none of them achieved OTP above 90% in May.

Wizz Air takes the top spot in this cohort, with 87.8% of flights arriving on time.

Latin America's two largest LCCs placed second and third. Mexico's Volaris delivered 87.2% OTP, and Brazil's Azul Airlines reached 86.0%, though Azul also recorded one of the higher cancellation rates in the group at 1.25%.

Europe and North America

Ryanair achieved 78.5% OTP, fractionally below the global average for the sector. easyJet posted 77.0%, and Jet2 finished 19th in the top-20 ranking with 69.0% OTP, though it is one of only two carriers in the group with zero cancellations for the month.

North American LCCs were spread across the lower half of the top 20. JetBlue led the US carriers at 83.2%, while Southwest Airlines reached 71.4% from a base of more than 123,000 arrivals, the largest single carrier by volume in the dataset.

Notable cancellation outliers

Amongst the top 20, AirAsia recorded the highest cancellation rate at 2.0%, followed by Azul at 1.25%. At the other end, Cebu Pacific and Jet2 each recorded zero cancellations in May — Cebu with an OTP of 81.8%, Jet2 at 69.0%.

Each month OAG publishes on-time performance and cancellation data for global airlines.