Austrian Airlines and SAS were the top European carriers for on-time performance (OTP) in March, with both recording a punctuality rate above 90 per cent, according to the latest figures from aviation data firm OAG.
Lufthansa Group-owned Austrian Airlines had an OTP of 92 per cent last month, which put it in seventh place globally behind top performers Oman Air (96.4 per cent), Royal Jordanian (94.6 per cent) and Saudi Arabian Airlines (94.1 per cent).
SAS was in 10th place overall with an OTP of 91.8 per cent in March while Aer Lingus ranked 15th with a punctuality rate of just under 90 per cent.
OAG said that ITA Airways and Iberia were among the carriers to record just a single cancellation during the entire month.
But British Airways and Virgin Atlantic saw cancellation rates of 3.9 per cent and 3.5 per cent respectively last month, with their performance impacted by the closure of London Heathrow on 21 March after the airport suffered a power outage due to a nearby fire.
Finnair also endured a cancellation rate of more than 3 per cent of scheduled flights following industrial action by aviation and transport workers' unions. Australian airline Qantas saw the highest cancellation level globally in March due to the impact of Cyclone Alfred on its flights.
Among other major European carriers, Lufthansa Airlines ranked 30th with an OTP of 86.6 per cent during the month, while Air France was 47th (83 per cent) and sister carrier KLM was in 61st position (81.1 per cent).
Europe’s largest budget airlines had very similar OTP scores, with easyJet ranking 42nd overall with an 84.4 per cent punctuality rate and Ryanair just behind in 44th place with an OTP of 83.5 per cent.