Delays Ahead! The World’s 10 Most Unpunctual Airlines in 2021
In case you’ve ever wondered which are the most unpunctual airlines, we have the answer today. We’ve analyzed performance data from hundreds of airlines around the globe. We’ve looked at the large carriers but also smaller airlines. And here’s the result: The world’s 10 most unpunctual airlines.
The World’s 10 Most Unpunctual Airlines — Result Overview
If you don’t want to go through all unpunctual airlines in detail, here’s a comprehensive overview of the world’s most unpunctual airlines. The values shown for tracked flights represent the flights from March to May 2021. The values are shown in “on-time performance” represent the share of tracked flights that arrived punctually.
| Rank | Airline | Country | Tracked Flights | Avg. On-Time Performance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yakutia | Russia | 2,650 | 0.3% |
| 2 | Solomon Airlines | Solomon | 1,668 | 7.1% |
| 3 | Star Peru | Pero | 1,474 | 20.9% |
| 4 | Lion Air | Indonesia | 36,618 | 37.9% |
| 5 | intercaribbean Airways | Turks & Caicos | 5,188 | 40.2% |
| 6 | T’way Air | South Korea | 9,778 | 40.8% |
| 7 | Go Air | India | 21,004 | 44.5% |
| 8 | Wings Air | Indonesia | 20,733 | 45.5% |
| 9 | Batik Air | Indonesia | 27,696 | 49.2% |
| 10 | Malindo Airways | Malaysia | 4,928 | 50.8% |
The World’s 10 Most Unpunctual Airlines — The Details
10 — Malindo Airways
Performance
Malindo Air kicks off the list of the world’s most unpunctual airlines. From March to April 2021, almost 5,000 Malindo Air flights have been tracked. Unfortunately, half of them were unpunctual: During the period, the airline achieved an on-time performance of 50.8%. However, when looking at the list of the world’s 10 most unpunctual airlines, Malindo Airways is still way above many others.
As mentioned below, Malindo Air is part of the Lion Air Group. And, without telling you too much, this is an airline group you should remember when reading on.
Airline Information
Malindo Air is a Malaysian airline founded in 2012 and based in Petaling Jaya, Selangor. The Indonesian Lion Air Group wholly owns the airline. Malindo Air flies to ~70 destinations in Asia and Australia. The airline operates a mixed fleet of ATR and Boeing aircraft. At the moment, 14 ATR-72, five B737-800, and six B737-900. Currently, there are no plans for expanding the fleet.
9 — Batik Air
Performance
Batik Air is a big Indonesian airline. During the observed period from March to May 2021, the airline operated almost 28,000 flights. However, approximately 14,300 out of these flights arrived late at their destination. Accordingly, Batik Air is the first airline among this list where the probability of an unpunctual flight is higher than to arrive on time.
Similar to Malindo Airways, Batik Air is part of the Lion Air Group. And again, I can tell you, this wasn’t the last time you heard the name “Lion Air.”
Airline Information
Batik Air is an Indonesian scheduled airline that was founded in 2012 and is based in Jakarta. The Indonesian Lion Air Group wholly owns the airline. Batik Air operates flights to roughly 60 destinations in Asia. Batik’s fleet consists of Airbus and Boeing aircraft and totals 80 aircraft.
8 — Wings Air
Performance
Let’s move on with rank eight of the most unpunctual airlines in 2021. And surprise: We’ve got another airline that is part of the Lion Air Group. Wings Air is an Indonesian airline that achieved an on-time performance of 45.5% from March to May 2021.
Airline Information
Wings Abadi Airlines (trading as Wings Air) is an Indonesian airline based in Jakarta. The airline was founded in 2003 and is a subsidiary of the Lion Air Group. The airline operates an ATR-only fleet, consisting of 20 ATR-72 500 and 45 ATR-72 600.
7 — Go Air
Performance
Finally, we find an airline that is not part of the Lion Air Group at position seven. Go Air is an Indian airline that operated 21,000 flights during the observed period. During that time, 55.5% of its flight arrived late at their destinations. Accordingly, the on-time performance results in a poor 44.5%.
Airline Information
Go Air is an India ultra-low-cost airline based in Mumbai. The airline was founded in 2005 and operated out of its hubs in Bengaluru, Delhi, Kannur, Kolkata, and Mumbai. In 2021, the airline was rebranded from GoAir to “Go First.” Go Air operates to 38 destinations in India. The airline’s fleet consists of 10 Airbus A320-200 and 46 Airbus A320neo.
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6 — T’way Air
Performance
With T’way Air on rank six, we are getting closer to a 3x% punctuality level. However, the South Korean carrier manages to stay above an on-time performance of 40%. Nevertheless, as a result, almost 5,900 out of 9,778 flights from March to May 2021 arrived late at their destination.
Airline Information
T’way Air is a South Korean low-cost airline, formerly known as Hansung Airlines. The airline was founded in 2010 and is based in Seoul. T’way operates out of its hubs in Seoul (Incheon Airport and Gimpo Airport). The carrier operates flights to 38 destinations — mainly in Asia and Russia. The current fleet consists of 27 Boeing 737-800.
5 — Intercaribbean Airways
Performance
intercaribbean Airways, on rank five of the world’s most unpunctual airlines, is only slightly better than T’way on position. The Caribbean carrier achieved an on-time performance of 40.2%. Accordingly, 3,100 out of 5,188 flights were unpunctual during the 3-months period.
Airline Information
interCaribbean Airways, formerly branded as Air Turks & Caicos, is based in the Turks and Caicos Islands. The airline was founded in 1991 and originally named InterIsland Airways. The airline operates flights to several Caribbean destinations, such as the Bahamas, Cuba, Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, etc. interCaribbean Airways operates a mixed fleet of 17 aircraft.
4 — Lion Air
Performance
And here we go: It’s Lion Air Group calling once again. At position four, we find Lion Air itself with a punctuality rate of 37.9%. In other words, almost two-thirds of Lion Air’s flights were delayed. In total, Lion Air delayed almost 23,000 flights during the time between March and May 2021.
Airline Information
Lion Air (official name: PT Lion Mentari Airlines) is an Indonesian low-cost airline based in Jakarta. It is the countries largest privately-owned airline and Aisa’s second-largest low-cost airline. Lion Air operates a fleet of 140 aircraft mainly to domestic and Asian destinations.
For more information, you can check out our detailed airline information page about Lion Air.
3 — Star Peru
Performance
Let’s get into the top three of the world’s most unpunctual airlines. And we start this list with a South American carrier. Star Peru achieved an on-time performance of 20.9% from March to May 2021. In other words, four out of five flights were unpunctual. Accordingly, almost 1,200 out of 1,474 flights have been delayed.
Airline Information
Aerolíneas Star Perú S.A. is a Peruvian airline based at Jorge Chávez International Airport in Lima, Perú. It is a scheduled airline operating passenger and cargo flights within Perú. The carrier mostly flies domestic routes in Perú from its base in Lima and Santiago, Chile. Its current fleet consists of 11 aircraft.
2 — Solomon Airlines
Performance
Solomon Airlines ranks 2nd among the world’s most unpunctual airlines. And we have to say; the airline well-deserved this position. The carrier achieved an incredible on-time performance of 7.1%. But, unfortunately, that means 92.9% of its flights were delayed! In other words, 1,549 out of 1,668 flights arrived late. So you really must be lucky to pick a flight that arrives on time. And if you think no airline in the world can top this performance, you should have a look at position 1!
Airline Information
Solomon Airlines is the national airline of the Solomon Islands. The airline was founded in 1962 and is based in Honiara. The carrier is a small airline, operating two aircraft — one Airbus A320 and one De Havilland DHC6-300.
1 — Yakutia
Performance
And here we go with the winner: The world’s most unpunctual airline award goes to Yakutia. The Russian carrier achieved an on-time performance of 0.3% from March to May 2021. Accordingly, 99.7% of its flights were delayed. In other words, the airline managed to operated 80 (!!!) out of 2,650 flights on time. So if you have an important meeting, you should think twice if you go for a Yakutia flight 🙂
Airline Information
Yakutia Airlines is a Russian airline based in Yakutsk. The airline was founded in 2002 and operated a fleet of 21 aircraft. The mixed fleet contains Antonov, Boeing, Bombardier, Irkut, and Sukhoi planes. The airline mainly offers flights to the Russian Federation and routes to China, former CIS-states, and Eastern Europe.
Punctual Airlines — What’s Your Opinion?
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Data Source & Explanation: All information shown in this blog post is based on OAG data. On-time performance calculation incorporates data from March to May 2021. Airlines with less than 100 flights in one of the months are excluded from the ranking.
