Airports may have to wear the airline delays caused by airline equipment or staffing issues. The bigger issue for airport delays and hence the annual report by FlightStats, is the overall delay statistics that reflect the efficiency and the ability of the airport to process passengers as they arrive, transit, and depart at an airport. In some cases the delays are due to physical structures of the airport not being able to handle the volumes coming through for departures and transit due to airport design, air traffic control limitations, or just bad check-in / immigration clearance issues. What ever the issue, the flights are delayed and the airline passengers are disadvantaged.
The title of this article speaks to airports that should be avoided, and likewise the best airports for on-time departures. Rather than look around the world in one go for results, we break the best airports for transit into geographic regions. If you are a globetrotter you can find the best airport for you connections. If you are a regional frequent flyer you may find some good hints to minimize your flight delays by choosing to avoid known problem airports.
ASIA/PACIFIC
Five Naughty Airports in Asia for delays and departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 184 | SZX | Shenzhen Bao'an International Airport | Shenzhen, China | 53.93% |
| 185 | PVG | Shanghai Pudong International Airport | Shanghai, China | 51.62% |
| 186 | NKG | Nanjing Lukou International Airport | Nanking, China | 44.65% |
| 187 | HGH | Hangzhou Xiaoshan International Airport | Hangzhou, China | 40.58% |
| 188 | CGK | Soekarno-Hatta International Airport | Jakarta, Indonesia | 35.22% |
Ten Amazing Airports in Asia for On Time Departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ITM | Itami Airport | Osaka, Japan | 94.74% |
| 3 | HND | Haneda Airport | Tokyo, Japan | 92.29% |
| 6 | NGO | Chubu Centrair International Airport | Nagoya, Japan | 91.02% |
| 7 | ADL | Adelaide Airport | Adelaide, Australia | 90.74% |
| 9 | PER | Perth Airport | Perth, Australia | 89.01% |
| 10 | BNE | Brisbane Airport | Brisbane, Australia | 88.20% |
| 11 | CTS | New Chitose Airport | Sapporo, Japan | 88.14% |
| 22 | KIX | Kansai International Airport | Osaka, Japan | 86.52% |
| 25 | FUK | Fukuoka Airport | Fukuoka, Japan | 86.31% |
| 32 | CCU | Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport | Kolkata, India | 84.38% |
In Asia you can easily see the best and worst of both worlds as the number one airport in the world, Itami Airport – ITM in Japan, and the worst performing airport for on time departures in the world, the main international airport in Jakarta (Indonesia) and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Airport (India) both are located in the Asia Pacific region.
EUROPE
Five Naughty Airports in Europe for delays and departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 158 | SVO | Sheremetyevo International Airport | Moscow, Russia | 66.09% |
| 167 | DME | Moscow Domodedovo Airport | Moscow, Russia | 60.80% |
| 174 | FCO | Leonardo da Vinci-Fiumicino Airport | Rome, Italy | 58.43% |
| 178 | VKO | Vnukovo Airport | Moscow, Russia | 56.40% |
| 180 | MAN | Manchester Airport | Manchester, UK | 55.98% |
Ten Amazing Airports in Europe for On Time Departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | HEL | Helsinki-Vantaa Airport | Helsinki, Finland | 92.22% |
| 19 | WAW | Frederic Chopin Airport | Warsaw, Poland | 87.23% |
| 24 | LIN | Milan Linate Airport | Milan, Italy | 86.34% |
| 27 | CPH | Copenhagen Airport | Copenhagen, Denmark | 85.48% |
| 29 | ATH | Eleftherios Venizelos International Airport | Athens, Greece | 85.28% |
| 30 | VIE | Vienna International Airport | Vienna, Austria | 85.02% |
| 31 | STR | Stuttgart Airport | Stuttgart, Germany | 84.87% |
| 35 | MUC | Franz Josef Strauss Airport | Munich, Germany | 84.13% |
| 38 | TXL | Tegel Airport | Berlin, Germany | 83.97% |
| 41 | OSL | Oslo Gardermoen Airport | Oslo, Norway | 83.71% |
Europe has issues for delays in Russia, but the worst airport for on-time departures in Europe is Manchester. If you want the most reliable and on-time departures / connections in Europe you should be looking to Finland.
MIDDLEEAST/AFRICA
Five Naughty Airports in the Middle East and Africa for delays and departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 144 | SAW | Sabiha Gokcen International Airport | Istanbul, Turkey | 70.81% |
| 149 | CAI | Cairo International Airport | Cairo, Eygpt | 69.05% |
| 157 | SHJ | Sharjah International Airport | Sharjah, UAE | 66.90% |
| 159 | DXB | Dubai Airport | Dubai, UAE | 64.34% |
| 169 | AUH | Abu Dhabi International Airport | Abu Dhabi, UAE | 60.51% |
Ten Amazing Airports in the Middle East and Africa for On Time Departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | CPT | Cape Town International Airport | Cape Town, South Africa | 91.40% |
| 12 | DOH | Doha International Airport | Doha, QA | 87.84% |
| 13 | JNB | OR Tambo International Airport | Johannesburg, South Africa | 87.51% |
| 14 | IST | Istanbul Ataturk Airport | Istanbul, Turkey | 87.33% |
| 15 | ADB | Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport | Izmir, Turkey | 87.31% |
| 33 | DMM | King Fahad International Airport | Dammam, Saudi Arabia | 84.21% |
| 83 | RUH | King Khaled International Airport | Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | 80.28% |
| 85 | BAH | Bahrain International Airport | Bahrain, Bahrain | 79.75% |
| 119 | JED | King Abdulaziz International Airport | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 76.46% |
| 124 | CMN | Mohamed V International Airport | Casablanca, Morocco | 75.73% |
Being big, famous, and having your own TV special about your airport does not necessarily mean you are doing very well on getting planes off the ground on time. Simply look the naughty airports for this region to figure out where the bottle neck is for on-time departures. The good news is if you are in South Africa you have good chances to leave on time.
NORTH AMERICA
Five Naughty Airports in North America for delays and departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 129 | BWI | Baltimore/Wash International Airport | Baltimore, Maryland, USA | 75.02% |
| 130 | HOU | William P. Hobby Airport | Houston, Texas, USA | 74.89% |
| 131 | DAL | Dallas Love Field | Dallas, Texas, USA | 74.85% |
| 132 | MDW | Chicago Midway International Airport | Chicago, Illinois, USA | 74.80% |
| 137 | EWR; | Newark Liberty International Airport | Newark, New Jersey, USA | 74.39% |
Ten Amazing Airports in North America and Africa for On Time Departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | HNL | Honolulu International Airport | Honolulu, HI, US | 89.66% |
| 16 | SLC | Salt Lake City International Airport | Salt Lake City, UT, US | 87.28% |
| 20 | YYC | Calgary International Airport | Calgary, AB, CA | 86.65% |
| 21 | YVR | Vancouver International Airport | Vancouver, BC, CA | 86.53% |
| 23 | PDX | Portland International Airport | Portland, OR, US | 86.46% |
| 28 | MSP | Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport | Minneapolis, MN, US | 85.46% |
| 34 | PIT | Pittsburgh International Airport | Pittsburgh, PA, US | 84.16% |
| 36 | SNA | John Wayne Airport | Santa Ana, CA, US | 84.11% |
| 37 | SAT | San Antonio International Airport | San Antonio, TX, US | 84.11% |
| 39 | DTW | Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport | Detroit, MI, US | 83.77% |
North America is pretty easy to figure out. Avoid the east coast cities of the USA as they are more inclined to delays and for best on time flights use a western city of the USA/Canada or fly out of Canada.
LATIN/SOUTH AMERICA
Five Naughty Airports in Latin/South America for delays and departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92 | LIM | J Chavez International Airport | Lima, Peru | 78.88% |
| 125 | MEX | Benito Juarez International Airport | Mexico City, Mexico | 75.42% |
| 136 | BSB | Brasilia International Airport | Brasilia, Brasil | 74.48% |
| 147 | AEP | Jorge Newbery Airport | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 69.64% |
| 165 | CCS | Simon Bolivar Airport | Caracas, Venezuela | 61.76% |
Ten Amazing Airports in North America and Africa for On Time Departures
| Global Rank 0-188 |
Airport code | Airport Name | Location | On time Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | PTY | Tocumen International Airport | Panama City, Panama | 93.23% |
| 17 | POA | Salgado Filho International Airport | Porto Alegre, Brasil | 87.27% |
| 18 | BOG | El Dorado International Airport | Bogota, Colombia | 87.26% |
| 26 | CWB | Afonso Pena International Airport | Curitiba, Brasil | 86.09% |
| 46 | SSA | Deputado Luis Eduardo Magalhaes International Airport | Salvador, Brasil | 83.17% |
| 49 | SDU | Santos Dumont Airport | Rio De Janeiro, Brasil | 83.10% |
| 54 | CUN | Cancun International Airport | Cancun, Mexico | 82.52% |
| 62 | CNF | Tancredo Neves International Airport | Belo Horizonte, Brasil | 82.12% |
| 67 | VCP | Viracopos Airport | Campinas, Brasil | 81.57% |
| 73 | SJU | Luis Munoz Marin International Airport | San Juan, Puerto Rico | 81.10% |
| 75 | CGH | Sao Paulo/Congonhas Airport | Sao Paulo, Brasil | 80.98% |
| 76 | GIG | Galeao Antonio Carlos Jobim International Airport | Rio De Janeiro, Brasil | 80.89% |
South America is pretty average for delays. The surprise? The Panama City, Panama International airport PTY, which is the second best in world for being on time with departures. If you are going to/from/transiting Brasil you are in for a good chance of being on time for your flight departures as the country has the majority of the best on time airports in South America.
Is your favourite airport…or least favourite airports missing from this consolidated list of airports? No problem checkout the full list of global airport rating in the annual on-time report at FlightStats.
What’s next? Airlines that make you cry… as your flight is delayed.
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