South African low-cost carrier FlySafair has once again proven that reliability is its strongest selling point, emerging as the most on-time airline in the Middle East and Africa and technically outperforming every airline in the world.
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According to the Cirium 2025 On-Time Performance Review, FlySafair achieved an impressive 91.06% on-time arrival rate, securing the top spot in its region.
While this figure is slightly down from the airline’s 93.82% score in 2024, it still places FlySafair ahead of all airlines assessed globally.
Cirium’s annual rankings are widely regarded as the gold standard for airline performance, drawing on more than 25 million data points from over 600 sources worldwide. However, its official Global Rankings only include the top 10% of airlines by capacity and volume, provided they operate across at least three regions.
Because FlySafair is a smaller, predominantly domestic airline operating within a limited regional market, it does not qualify for the official global list. Even so, its on-time performance surpassed that of Aeromexico, which was named the world’s most punctual global airline with a score of 90.02%.
Closer to home, South Africa’s aviation sector also performed strongly, with Airlink and South African Airways both placing in Cirium’s top 25 airlines overall.
Cirium credits FlySafair’s consistent performance to its tightly managed schedules, fast 30-minute aircraft turnarounds, and heavy use of real-time operational data.
The airline also relies on detailed contingency planning to recover quickly from disruptions, a system that has been tested recently amid industry-wide staffing challenges affecting air traffic control.
FlySafair Chief Marketing Officer Kirby Gordon described the 2025 recognition as a major achievement, particularly given the pressures facing the local aviation industry.
“With ongoing challenges in air traffic management, fuel supply certainty and airport infrastructure, including baggage systems outside an airline’s direct control, maintaining reliable on-time performance has required extraordinary coordination and discipline,” Gordon said.
“This result is a credit to the dedication of our teams.”
South Africa’s domestic airline landscape has shifted significantly since the Covid-19 pandemic. Before 2020, five operators ran seven airline brands, including Kulula, Mango and British Airways under Comair. Today, the market is served by five airlines: South African Airways, Lift, FlySafair, CemAir and Airlink.
Since launching in 2014, FlySafair has consistently ranked among the world’s most punctual airlines, collecting multiple global performance awards along the way.
In 2025 alone, it was voted “Best Airline” at the South African Civil Aviation Authority Excellence Awards and claimed the Skytrax title for Best Low-Cost Airline in Africa.
For travellers, the message is simple: when it comes to getting where you’re going on time, few airlines do it better than FlySafair.
Source: Business Tech
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