South African low-cost carrier FlySafair has been recognised as the most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa, achieving an on-time performance score that outpaces even the world’s official top-ranked carrier.
- FlySafair’s operational efficiency stands out globally, exceeding even Aeromexico’s on-time rating of 90.02%.
- The airline executed 62,805 flights in 2025, demonstrating consistent precision despite global aviation challenges.
- FlySafair has been recognized as the most punctual airline in the Middle East and Africa for 2025, achieving a 91.06% on-time performance.
- Innovative practices include precise scheduling, rapid turnarounds, and robust contingency planning.
According to Cirium’s On-Time Performance Review 2025, FlySafair maintained an impressive 91.06% of flights arriving on schedule across 62,805 departures.
While slightly lower than the 93.82% recorded in 2024, the score underscores the airline’s consistent operational precision in a sector increasingly challenged by staffing shortages, unpredictable weather, and complex airspace constraints.
Global Context and Industry Challenges
Cirium, which monitors more than 25 million data points from over 600 sources, notes that structural constraints have become a baseline in aviation rather than temporary disruptions.
Globally, an estimated 38.9 million flights took place in 2025, amid a delicate geopolitical landscape that added further complexity to maintaining punctuality.
While Cirium’s global rankings only include the top 10% of airlines by capacity and route diversity, FlySafair did not meet those criteria due to its largely domestic focus.
Nevertheless, the airline’s 91.06% punctuality rating exceeded the global industry benchmark and outperformed Aeromexico, widely regarded as the world’s most punctual airline, which recorded 90.02%.
Keys to Success
Since its launch in 2014, FlySafair has consistently ranked among the world’s most punctual airlines, winning multiple global awards for on-time performance.
In 2025, it also received the “Best Airline” award by public vote at the South African Civil Aviation Authority Excellence Awards and the SkyTrax Award for “Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa.
The low-cost carrier attributes its performance to precise scheduling, rapid 30-minute turnarounds, real-time data utilization, and robust contingency planning, which allow it to recover quickly from disruptions.
The airline recently relied on these systems after a shortage of flight control staff caused weekend delays.
South Africa’s Domestic Market
South Africa’s domestic airline market has consolidated significantly since the pre-COVID era, now operating five carriers: South African Airways (SAA), Lift, FlySafair, CemAir, and Airlink.
Within this competitive landscape, FlySafair has leveraged operational precision and customer focus to carve out a leading position in regional aviation, proving that punctuality remains a powerful differentiator for airlines in Africa.
