In a month of severe operational challenges in the Middle East, October’s On-Time Performance (OTP) results have a very different feel, as airlines located in Northeast Asia occupied the top ten places.
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Changan Airlines led the way, an associate of the larger Hainan Airlines, flying B737’s. It operated at an OTP rate of 96.0% with no cancelled services.
- Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines followed closely in second place, achieving a 95.9% OTP and only four cancelled flights in October.
- Placing third were Jiangxi Air, the highest-placed LCC with 94.3% OTP, giving Chinese-based airlines a clean sweep on the medal podium for the month.
Global airlines ranked by on-time performance:
| Rank | Airline | OTP | Cancellations | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Changan Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
96.04% | 0.00% | 1,753 |
| 2 | Guangxi Beibu Gulf Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
95.88% | 0.14% | 2,826 |
| 3 | Jiangxi Air Asia: Northeast Asia |
94.36% | 0.38% | 2,345 |
| 4 | Star Flyer Asia: Northeast Asia |
94.07% | 0.52% | 1,927 |
| 5 | Hainan Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
93.07% | 1.25% | 21,080 |
| 6 | Qingdao Airline Asia: Northeast Asia |
92.86% | 0.11% | 3,735 |
| 7 | Beijing Capital Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
92.83% | 0.26% | 7,058 |
| 8 | Kunming Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
92.83% | 0.17% | 3,432 |
| 9 | Zhejiang Loong Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
92.82% | 0.24% | 8,457 |
| 10 | China Southern Airlines Asia: Northeast Asia |
92.59% | 0.12% | 68,901 |
Source: OAG On-Time Performance data, October 2026. All airlines with 1,500+ flights included. OTP = percentage of flights arriving within 15 minutes of schedule.
Africa
FlySafair, which is normally in the top five airlines globally for OTP, is the highest-placed airline from outside of Northeast Asia in twelfth place. Its OTP was 92.1%, and just ten flights were cancelled in October.
Across those African airlines reporting in October, no airline reported more than a 1% cancellation rate, with collectively just fifty-one cancellations making it one of the best months for punctuality in Africa.
Middle East
Safety remained paramount, and the Middle East was impacted by the ongoing unrest, which badly disrupted some of the regular high performers in October.
- Saudia, which is typically in the top ten every month, had a 45.9% OTP and over 20% of its flights cancelled, while Gulf Air had a 5.7% cancellation rate.
- Despite those challenges, Royal Jordanian, a consistent performer, reported a 90.5% OTP, but even here, cancellations were higher than normal at 3.2%.
Europe
- Only one European airline achieved an OTP rate higher than 90%, Widerøe, which claimed first place. It was followed by Aer Lingus (88.1% OTP) and Norwegian Air, which recorded an 87% rate and only two cancellations in the month.
- Across European airlines, the cancellation rate for October was very good, as Tarom had no cancellations while Air Baltic cancelled just one flight.
North America
- Across the major North American airlines, Delta Air Lines were the most punctual in October, delivering an 86.6% OTP rate, while United Airlines hit an 83.7% OTP rate, and both airlines cancelled less than one percent of their scheduled flights.
- Breeze Airways was the most punctual LCC, on an 84.5% OTP and only eight cancellations in the month, placing them ahead of JetBlue at 82.3%.
