South Africa's largest airline, FlySafair stands out at the regional level (Middle East and Africa) as the only African airline featured in Cirium's latest “Most On-Time Airlines” rankings.
The airline secured its top position with an impressive 93.82% performance rate. Additionally, FlySafair showed a pronounced on-time arrival rate of 97.14%, along with a flight completion factor of 99.86%.
With a total of 57,272 flights completed, FlySafair's punctuality and reliability underscores its position as a leader in the aviation industry.
To qualify for a Cirium on-time performance review, airlines must meet 80% gate arrival time data coverage requirements. This applies to global, major (regional) and low-cost carriers.
In the global airline category, Cirium rates the top 10% of all passenger aviation based on metrics such as seat kilometers available (ASK), flight volume, number of seats, and more. Additionally, these airlines must operate in at least three regions to be considered.
For regional major airlines, review criteria are adjusted by region to reflect the scale of different operations. Specifically, for the Middle East and Africa, the available seat kilometers (ASK) threshold is set to 30% to accurately match the operating size of the region.
Flysafair soars punctual, but ownership issues can be grounded on that
FlySafair is either given a year to reduce its foreign stockholdings or faces the risk of its operating license being suspended.
The decision comes after the Department of Transport determines that FlySafair does not meet the country's local ownership regulations.
Airlines must currently submit a compliance plan within 14 days, including a term sheet detailing the milestones and provide monthly updates on their progress.
Holding a dominant share of the domestic market of 60%, FlySafair serves approximately 30,000 passengers daily with a fleet of 34 aircraft. Airlines' landing due to non-compliance can have a potentially significant impact on reducing hundreds of thousands of passengers.
