Air India ranks fourth globally in June on-time performance: Cirium

MUMBAI: Air India has been ranked the world’s fourth most on-time airline for the month of June by aviation analytics firm Cirium, marking a sharp improvement in its operational performance as the Tata Group-owned carrier continues its transformation programme.According to Cirium’s June 2026 On-Time Performance Report, Air India recorded an on-time arrival rate of 86.85% across 15,135 tracked flights, placing it behind Saudia (92.38%), Korean Air (88.56%) and Aeromexico (86.94%). A flight is deemed to be on-time if it departs within 15 minutes of its scheduled time of departure. Air India was followed by Singapore Airlines (86.74%), WestJet, Emirates, Turkish Airlines, SAS and Qatar Airways in the global top 10.

The airline also recorded an on-time departure rate of 86.23% and completion factor of 99.7%, which means almost all scheduled flights were operated.In the Asia-Pacific rankings, Air India also placed fourth, behind Jeju Air, Korean Air and Scoot, while finishing ahead of Singapore Airlines and IndiGo.In a statement, Air India said the ranking “underscores the airline’s continued focus on operational reliability and schedule integrity.”

The airline attributed the improvement to investments in “operational resilience, improved network planning, and enhanced execution across its domestic and international operations.” Describing the challenges of operating one of the country’s largest hub-and-spoke networks, Air India said its operations are often affected by congestion and air traffic control restrictions at Delhi and Mumbai airports, which can have a cascading impact across the network.The Indian regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) too tracks On-Time Performance (OTP), but the latest data available is for the month of May. The DGCA looks at OTP of scheduled domestic airlines at ten major airports, including Bengalaru, Delhi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Guwahati and Lucknow. In May, the Air India Group had an OTP of 74.5 % and came third after IndiGo and Akasa Air.

Within these airports, Air India had the best punctuality record at Chennai where 89.5 % of its flights departed on time in May. Its worst performance was in Lucknow where only 62.4 % of its flights departed on time.Air India said it has inducted three Boeing 787-9 aircraft over the past six months, with more Boeing 787-9s and Airbus A350-1000s due later this year. It also said two of its legacy Boeing 787-8 aircraft with refurbished interiors have returned to service, while three more are undergoing upgrades in the United States. “By the end of 2026, more than 50% of Air India’s widebody fleet is expected to feature new or upgraded interiors,” the airline said.