15 of the world's most reliable airports

Indoor waterfalls, rooftop pools, yoga studios.

While airports often feature various amenities, what most travelers truly desire is punctual flights.

AirHelp ranked 239 airports in 69 countries based on the on-time performance of flights from May 2023 to April 2024.

The on-time performance measure accounted for 60% of each airport's total score, with flights that arrive within 15 minutes of their published arrival times.

According to AirHelp's website, the remaining 40% of the score was determined by passenger opinions of each airport and traveler ratings of its food and shops.

Here are the results.

Best airports for on-time flights

The list of on-time performance scores is dominated by South Africa, Colombia, Brazil, and the United States.

1. Cape Town Airport, South Africa — 8.6
2. Brasília–Presidente Juscelino Kubitschek Airport, Brazil — 8.6
3. Panama City Tocumen Airport, Panama — 8.6
4. Nagoya Chubu Airport, Japan — 8.5
5. Osaka Itami Airport, Japan — 8.5
6. Salt Lake City Airport, United States — 8.4
7. Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, United States — 8.4
8. Doha Hamad Airport, Qatar — 8.3
9. Belém Val-de-Cans Airport, Brazil — 8.3
10. Bogotá El Dorado Airport, Colombia — 8.3
11. Cartagena Rafael Núñez Airport, Colombia — 8.3
12. Medellin Jose Maria Cordova Airport, Colombia — 8.3
13. Johannesburg OR Tambo Airport, South Africa — 8.2
14. Recife/Guararapes–Gilberto Freyre Airport, Brazil — 8.2
15. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, United States — 8.2

According to AirHelp's website, those scores indicate the percentage of flights that arrive on schedule.

To illustrate, an 8.5 score signifies that 85% of flights arrived punctually.

The airports with the poorest on-time performance averages are Tunisia's Tunis Carthage Airport (48%), London Gatwick Airport (57%), and Portugal's Lisbon Humberto Delgado Airport (58%), according to the ranking.

According to AirHelp, the scores were obtained by cross-referencing data from various sources, including government agencies, airports, and flight-tracking vendors.

According to OAG, the performance of airlines and airports is closely linked to on-time flight operations.

However, other factors are at play too.

External factors like unfavorable weather, traffic, accidents, and labor strikes can lead to delays, as stated on the company's website.

According to OAG, airlines and airports use on-time performance as a key metric to distinguish and advertise their brands.

Other accolades

According to the ranking, Nashville Airport, Singapore Changi Airport, and Doha Hamad Airport were the top three airports when passenger opinion scores were taken into account.

Sapporo New Chitose Airport, Dubai Airport, and Doha Hamad, which ranked No. 1 overall, are the top-rated airports for food and shops.

In April, Skytrax named Hamad International Airport the "World's Best Airline."

The full ranking of 239 airlines is available on AirHelp's website.