KLM Royal Dutch Airlines — Flights, Punctuality & Cancellations in 2021
We put together some of the most relevant data about KLM’s flight performance in 2021: Flight rankings, punctuality reports, and cancellation rates. Moreover, we benchmarked KLM’s flight performance against regional and global averages. Here’s what’s contained in detail:
- Flight Analysis
- Monthly Flight Overview
- Global & Europen Ranking By Number of Flights
- KLM Punctuality
- Monthly Punctuality Overview
- Global & European Ranking By Punctuality
- KLM Flight Cancellations
- Monthly Cancellation Overview
- Global & European Ranking By Cancellation Rate
KLM — Flight Analysis
We kick off the analysis with KLM’s flight from February to June 2021. Besides the overall numbers, we also provide details about KLM’s share in terms of EMEA traffic and KLM’s ranking compared to other European and global airlines.
Monthly Flight Overview
Between March and May, the number of flights performed by KLM was relatively stable in a corridor between 9,000 and 10,300 flights per month. However, in June, KLM added more than 2,000 flights and subsequently operated 12,700 flights. As a result, KLM operated 10,500 flights on average from February to June 2021.
When looking at total EMEA flights, KLM’s share peaked in March at almost 4%. Nevertheless, then share is constantly declining since then. However, since KLM added additional flights in May and June, the indicator shows that other airlines are adding more flights.
February | March | April | May | June | Monthly Average ’21 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
7,840 | 9,945 | 9,180 | 10,325 | 12,708 | 10,497 |


Global & European Ranking By Number of Flights
When looking at the KLM’s ranking according to the number of flights, the Durch carrier constantly wins the title of the biggest domestic airline. On an EMEA level, KLM ranks on position 6.6 on average, whereas globally, KLM ranks 31.4 on average.
Month | Domestic Rank | EMEA Rank | Global Rank |
---|---|---|---|
February | 1 | 7 | 30 |
March | 1 | 5 | 33 |
April | 1 | 8 | 36 |
May | 1 | 7 | 30 |
June | 1 | 6 | 28 |
Average ’21 | 1 | 6.6 | 31.4 |
KLM Punctuality
In the following chapter, we take a deeper look at KLM’s flight performance in terms of punctuality. Again, we benchmark KLM’s results with EMEA averages and provide a domestic, regional, and global ranking.
Monthly Puncutality Overview
Overall, KLM achieved outstanding results in terms of flight punctuality. Except for February, the carrier reported an on-time performance level above 90%. As a result, KLM’s punctuality is more than 8 pp., better than the EMEA average. Moreover, taking the challenges of COVID into account, the results appear even more appealing.
February | March | April | May | June | Monthly Average ’21 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KLM | 83.6% | 93.5% | 93.4% | 94.8% | 91.5% | 91.3% |
EMEA Average | 73.9% | 85.7% | 85.6% | 85.2% | 83.6% | 82.8% |

KLM Flights — Global & European Ranking By Punctuality
Although KLM achieved outstanding results in terms of punctuality, the airline doesn’t rank among the top 10 from an EMEA or global point of view. Moreover, and surprisingly, KLM ranks 2nd on a domestic level (Transavia ranks 1st). However, KLM still achieves excellent results — rank 34th on average on a global perspective and 16th on an EMEA perspective. Due to KLM’s weaker performance in February, the airline ranks only 119th respectively 54th this month.
Month | Domestic Rank | EMEA Rank | Global Rank |
---|---|---|---|
February | 2 | 54 | 119 |
March | 2 | 15 | 35 |
April | 2 | 19 | 42 |
May | 2 | 14 | 24 |
June | 2 | 20 | 45 |
Average ’21 | 2 | 16.4 | 34 |
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KLM Cancellations
In the last chapter of this report, we take a detailed look at KLM’s flight cancellations. Similar to the previous chapter, we put results in relation to regional averages and provide rankings.
Monthly Cancellation Overview
Similar to KLM’s punctuality, the airline achieved solid results from March to June. However, KLM’s performance in terms of cancellations isn’t outstanding as its performance comes to punctuality. Moreover, in line with other carriers, KLM reported a very high cancellation rate in February. Nevertheless, overall, KLM’s cancellation rate is still 1.5 pp. lower than the EMEA average.
February | March | April | May | June | Monthly Average ’21 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
KLM | 6.7% | 1.6% | 0.8% | 1.0% | 2.1% | 2.4% |
EMEA Average | 6.8% | 2.7% | 2.5% | 4.0% | 3.6% | 3.9% |

KLM Flights — European Ranking by Cancellations
In relation to other EMEA or global airlines, KLM’s cancellation performance could be improved. The airline ranks 57 on average from an EMEA point of view and 102nd from a global point of view.
Month | Domestic Rank | EMEA Rank | Global Rank |
---|---|---|---|
February | 2 | 105 | 205 |
March | 2 | 54 | 109 |
April | 2 | 48 | 85 |
May | 2 | 54 | 93 |
June | 3 | 75 | 134 |
Average ’21 | 2.2 | 57 | 102.8 |
Used Data
The shown information is based on OAG data and internal data sources. Rankings only included airlines that operated more than 500 flights in the respective month. However, the global benchmark includes all tracked flights.
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