Asian budget airlines are leading the world in punctuality. At the same time, Wizz Air has emerged as the standout performer among the world’s largest volume operators, according to the latest May 2026 data released by OAG.
During a busy early-summer travel rush, low-cost carriers (LCCs) collectively operated more than 760,000 arrivals. The sector achieved a strong global average on-time performance (OTP) of 78.9% and a remarkably low average cancellation rate of just 0.6%. However, these headline figures mask significant disparities between individual airline performances.
Airlines from North East and South East Asia secured seven of the top ten spots for punctuality among carriers operating over 1,500 monthly arrivals. South Korea’s Jeju Airlines claimed the absolute top spot globally, hitting a flawless 0% cancellation rate alongside a staggering 92.2% OTP.
Minimum 1,500 monthly arrivals and 80%+ tracking coverage.
| Rank | Carrier | Region | On-Time Performance (OTP) | Cancellation Rate |
| 1 | Jeju Airlines | North East Asia | 92.2% | 0% |
| 2 | Norwegian Air Shuttle | Western Europe | 91.4% | 0.15% |
| 3 | Jiangxi Air | North East Asia | 91.4% | 0.18% |
| 4 | Solaseed | North East Asia | 90.8% | 1.01% |
| 5 | Citilink | South East Asia | 90.7% | 2.61% |
| 6 | Sky Airline | Latin America | 90.1% | 0.58% |
| 7 | Peach Aviation | North East Asia | 90.0% | 0% |
| 8 | HK Express | North East Asia | 89.0% | 0.05% |
| 9 | Urumqi Airlines | North East Asia | 88.7% | 1.36% |
| 10 | Philippines AirAsia | South East Asia | Data Top 10 | Data Top 10 |
For mega-carriers operating over 10,000 flights a month—a cohort that accounts for 80% of all global LCC arrivals—the operational challenges of scale became apparent. Not a single carrier in this heavyweight division managed to break the 90% OTP threshold.
Wizz Air defied the downward trend to lead the high-volume group, capturing the top spot with an impressive 87.8% of flights arriving on time.
Latin American giants followed closely to round out the top three:
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Volaris (Mexico): Secured second place with an 87.2% OTP.
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Azul Airlines (Brazil): Took third with 86.0% OTP, though it faced hurdles with a 1.25% cancellation rate.
European heavyweights saw varied outcomes. While Wizz Air excelled, Ryanair posted a 78.5% OTP, landing fractionally below the sector’s global average. easyJet followed at 77.0%, while Jet2 ranked 19th out of the top 20 with a 69.0% OTP—though it uniquely achieved zero cancellations for the entire month.
In North America, carriers landed in the bottom half of the top 20 rankings. JetBlue led the U.S. contingent with an 83.2% OTP. Meanwhile, Southwest Airlines—the largest single carrier in the entire dataset with a massive base of over 123,000 arrivals—managed a 71.4% OTP under heavy volume pressure.
While punctuality varied, schedule reliability remained exceptionally tight across the industry. Cebu Pacific (81.8% OTP) and Jet2 (69.0% OTP) stood out as operational anchors, both reporting 0% cancellations for May. Conversely, AirAsia posted the highest cancellation rate among the top 20 at 2.0%, followed by Azul Airlines at 1.25%.
