Birmingham Airport named world’s most punctual

BIRMINGHAM Airport has been named the world’s most punctual airport in 2016.

Analysis by air travel intelligence company OAG, found 91.28% of flights both in and out of the airport were on time.

With more than 100,000 scheduled flights from the airport last year, the most punctual route was to Dublin, boasting an on-time score of over 95%. The UK airport beat contenders from countries such as Japan, Brazil, America, Germany and Australia to claim the global crown.

On receiving the award, Birmingham Airport CEO Paul Kehoe, said: “To be crowned the world’s most punctual airport in 2016 is a tremendous prize, particularly in the busiest twelve months in our 77-year history.  

“This achievement is a result of a team effort by the seven thousand employees and 140 companies operating at the airport – from the ground handlers to bus drivers, fuellers to caterers, and cleaners to office staff.

“We have invested £350m in the last ten years to improve the airport infrastructure and we’re currently working on a further £1m development project to improve passenger facilities even further. These investments have helped us achieve this award because we can offer our customers an efficient service that makes us proud to be an airport that is easy to get to and easy to get through.”

He said the airport worked closely with its airlines and handling agents to ensure that delays – at least the ones within its control – were kept to a minimum.

“We thank all of our partners for their continued hard work to become the world’s most punctual airport,” he added.

OAG’s punctuality league is based on approximately 54 million flight records using full-year data from 2016.

John Grant, senior analyst at OAG, said: “The UK’s airports and airlines have always been leaders in the global aviation industry, delivering exceptionally high service levels. The success of Birmingham is just another example of how the UK’s regional airports have created world-class facilities and networks that both connect their regional communities to the world, and provide valuable economic growth.”

The multi-million pound developments seen over the last decade at Birmingham Airport have included a runway extension to allow for more long haul flights, a new state of the art pier with parking stands to accommodate the world’s largest aircraft, more security lanes and becoming the first airport of its size to operate its own air traffic control services in 2015.