According to our latest data, on-time performance (OTP) in North America has improved significantly in the past five months, and in October, the average OTP of both airlines and airports in the region was ahead of those in any other region; 82.6% for airlines and 82.9% for airports.

This is a contrast to its position just five months ago in June, when North America sat at the bottom of the list with an average airline OTP of 50.8%. This improved to 60.7% in July, 75.2% in August and 79.1% in September.

The region’s lower OTP in the summer months can be attributed to some severe weather, including storms leading into the busy Fourth of July period, as well as IT and air traffic control problems. All of this was exacerbated by shortfalls in staffing.

In October 2023, the most punctual airline in North America was Northern Pacific Airways, with 100% of its 1071 flights arriving within 15 minutes of the scheduled arrival time and no cancellations. This is the second month in a row that Northern Pacific Airways has achieved 100% OTP.

Delta Airlines was the most punctual of the larger (5,000+ scheduled flights per month) airlines in North America last month, with OTP at 90.3%, followed by United Airlines with 85.8%.

The most punctual airport in North America last month was Greenville (PGV), the North Carolina airport recorded an average of 96.6% of departures on time, over its 89 flights. Of the large airports in North America, Salt Lake City (SLC) recorded the highest OTP of 88.9%. For airports, an on-time flight is defined as departing within 15 minutes of the scheduled time, with cancellations being classed as not on-time.

Three Canadian airports recorded an OTP above the regional average of 82.9% these were:

• Sault Ste Marie (YAM) at 86.7%
• Toronto Bishop Billy City Airport (YTZ) at 83.6%
• Timmins (YTS) at 83.6%

Top performing regional airports and airlines around the world in October 2023

Here's a breakdown of the top three airlines and airports for each region this month.

We upload fresh on-time performance data to our free-to-access database every month, which can be found here. When you subscribe using the form below we’ll send an alert each time it’s updated.

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