In February, amidst weather disruptions and bustling winter holiday travel, one U.S. airport stood out for its exceptional punctuality, earning the coveted title of the most on-time international airport worldwide for the month.
Washington-Dulles International Airport clinched the top spot, boasting an impressive on-time departure rate of 89.95 percent out of more than 15,000 domestic and international flights, as reported by Cirium, a leading aviation analytics company.
Mike Malik, Cirium’s chief marketing officer, highlighted the significance of this achievement, especially given the complexities of Washington-Dulles’ operations as a major global gateway hub. He noted, “Washington-Dulles is a major gateway for global carriers — and a complex operation with large aircraft and long-haul flights traveling around the world. It’s quite an accomplishment for the airport and the airlines that operate from Dulles to have such an excellent on-time performance, especially in the middle of the North American winter.”
Cirium’s definition of on-time departures is flights arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time. Notably, several other U.S. airports secured positions in the global top 10 list for punctuality, including Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (89.04%), Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (88.01%), Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (87.92%), Philadelphia International Airport (87.81%), Nashville International Airport (87.64%), and Chicago O’Hare International Airport (87.50%).
Despite Washington-Dulles serving as a fortress hub for United Airlines, Cirium’s findings revealed that Delta Air Lines emerged as the most on-time domestic airline in February, with 89.27% of flights arriving punctually. United closely followed with 84.91% of on-time flights in its network, trailed by American Airlines with 84.43% of on-time arrivals last month.
The past year has witnessed significant expansion at Washington-Dulles, marked by the introduction of new international routes from carriers such as Play, Norse Atlantic Airways, ITA Airways, and WestJet. Furthermore, the Biden Administration’s recent announcement of nearly $1 billion in airport grants includes substantial investment earmarked for Washington-Dulles, aimed at the construction of a new terminal featuring 14 gates.