The World’s Most Unpunctual Airports
In fact, delays are one of the most annoying situations when traveling by plane. And there are many reasons why delays occur: Weather situations, crowded airspaces, or technical aircraft problems. However, besides that, airports also play a significant role in terms of delays. Moreover, when choosing the “wrong” airport, the probability of a delay can be immense.
As shown in one of our latest posts, many top airports achieve an on-time performance of >95%. Nevertheless, today we want to look at the bottom of the list: The most unpunctual airports. Therefore, we analyzed OAG data for almost 1,000 airports and their performance in April 2021. Moreover, we’ve excluded airports that operated less than 1,000 flights to provide you with the relevant players. So here are the 10 most unpunctual airports!
#10 — Guiyang Airport (KWE)
In April 2021, Guiyang Airport achieved a punctuality of 53%. In other words—and you will read that more often in this post— almost every second flight is unpunctual. Since the airport operated 8,537 flights in April 2021, its on-time performance resulted in 4524 unpunctual flights in just one month!
Airport Information
Guiyang Airport is a Chinese airport located in China’s southwest. Although the airport isn’t commonly known in Europe or America, it is quite a big player. In 2017, the airport operated 18 mils. Passengers and was the 22nd largest airport in China. In addition, more than 40 airlines—mainly from China and Asia— operate flights to the airport.
#9 — Wuxi Airport (WUX)
We continue the list with another Chinese airport. Wuxi Airport achieved an on-time performance of 51.2% and therefore ranked as the 9th most unpunctual airport. Out of 3,276 flights in April 2021, almost 1,600 were unpunctual. So again, we talk about roughly every second flight that departs unpunctual.
Airport Information
Wuxi Airport is located in China’s southern. Initially built as a military airport, Wuxi was transformed into a commercial airport in 2004. The airport operated 3.5 mils. passengers in 2013 and ranks as China’s 42nd busiest airport.
#8 — New Yogyakarta International (YIA)
Indonesia’s New Yogyakarta Airport ranks 8th among the world’s most unpunctual airports. The airport achieved an on-time performance of 51.2% in April 2021. Out of 1061 flights in April, more than 500 had a delayed departure.
Airport Information
Yogyakarta is an Indonesian airport located on the island of Java. The airport is rather new and became fully operational in March 2020. Approximately 10 airlines operate flights to Yogyakarta, such as AirAsia, Garuda Indonesia, or Lion Air.
#7 — Taipei Songshan (TSA)
Taipei Songshan Airport is the first airport on our list that operated more delayed flights than punctual flights. As a result, Taipei Songshan achieved an on-time performance of 49.7%. Accordingly, more than every second flight was unpunctual: Out of 1,817 flights in April 2021, 913 were unpunctual!
Airport Information
Taipei Songshan Airport is a mid-sized international airport and military airbase located in Songshan, Taipei, Taiwan (the Republic of China). In 2018 the airport handled more than 6.2 million passengers and 47,132 tonnes of cargo. Currently, 13 airlines operate flights to Taipei Songshan Airport — mainly from China and Japan.
#6 — Baotou Airport (BAV)
And the list continues with another Chinese airport. Baotou Airport achieved an on-time performance of 48.7% in April 2021. But, again, as a result, more than every second flight departed unpunctual at this airport. Out of 1,353 flights, almost 700 were unpunctual.
Airport Information
Baotou Donghe Airport is an airport serving the city of Baotou in Inner Mongolia, China. In 2019, Baotou operated 19,500 aircraft movements resulting in a passenger volume of 2.2 million. On top of that, the airport operated 19,500 tonnes of cargo in 2019. Some 15 airlines —mainly from China— operate flights to the airport.
Top 5 Most Unpunctual Airports
#5 — Makassar Airport (UPG)
Indonesia’s Makassar Airport kicks off the list of the top 5 most unpunctual airports. The airport achieved an on-time performance of 48.5% in April 2021. Out of 4,443 flights, Makassar Airport delayed almost 2,300 flights in just one month!
Airport Information
Makassear Airport (Indonesian: Bandar Udara Internasional Sam Ratulangi), is located in North Sulawesi, 13 kilometres northeast of Manado. The airport is named after the Minahasan educator and independence hero Sam Ratulangi. It is designated as one of Indonesia’s 11 main entry ports by the Ministry of Tourism and Culture of Indonesia. In addition, it serves as the main gateway to the Bunaken National Marine Park. In 2018, the airport handled 2.8 million passengers and 12,250 aircraft movements.
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#4 — Changzhou Airport (CZX)
And we move on to another Chinese airport. Changzhou achieved an incredible on-time performance of 46.3% in April 2021. So you should literally think twice before choosing this airport. Out of 1,523 operated flights, more than 800 were unpunctual.
Airline Information
Changzhou is another rather small Chinese airport — at least in comparison to the big players in China. In 2018, 3.3 million passengers traveled through the airport. Moreover, the airport tracked 45,000 aircraft movements, and 28,000 tonnes of cargo were operated. Currently, 13 airlines operate flights to Changzhou, such as China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, or Air China.
#3 — Mianyang Airport (MIG)
Chinese airports continue to dominate the list of the world’s most unpunctual airports. Mianyang ranks 3rd with an achieved on-time performance of 46.10%. As a result, 650 out of 1,200 flights were unpunctual in April 2021.
Airline Information
Mianyang Nanjiao Airport is an airport serving the city of Mianyang in Sichuan Province, China. It is located in the southern suburbs of Mianyang (Nanjiao means “southern suburbs” in Chinese), 10 kilometers from the city center. Opened on 28 April 2001, Mianyang Nanjiao is the second largest airport in Sichuan after Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport. In 2018, the airport operated almost 4 million passengers.
#2 — Pontianak Airport (PNK)
The silver medal of the world’s most unpunctual airport goes to Indonesia. Pontianak Airport achieved an unbelievable on-time performance of 44.9% in April 2021. While operating a total number of 1,090 flights — more than 600 flights were unpunctual.
Airport Information
The airport serves as the main point of entry to West Kalimantan. In addition, the airport serves domestic flights to and from several cities and towns in Indonesia and some limited flights to Kuching and Kuala Lumpur in neighboring Malaysia. In 2017, the airport handled 3.44 million passengers and 8,350 tonnes of cargo.
#1 — Korla Airport (KRL)
And here we go with the gold medal! The world’s most unpunctual airport is another Chinese airport: Korla Airport. Korla Airport achieved an on-time performance of 35.50% in April 2021. In other words, two out of three flights were delayed. In total numbers: Out of 1,920 flights, 1,240 were unpunctual!
Airport Information
Korla Airport is located in Korla, a city in the autonomous region of Xinjiang, China. Currently, ten airlines operate flights to Korla, such as Air China, China Eastern Airlines, or China Southern Airlines. In 2018, the airport operated 7,600 flights and 1.7 million passengers.
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Data Source & Explanation: All information shown in this blog post is based on OAG data. Moreover, we excluded airports with less than 1000 monthly flights for this ranking.
