Chennai: The Chennai airport was the most punctual in India in Oct, ahead of all other major Indian airports in on-time performance, according to the latest global rankings from aviation analytics firm Cirium. It ranked sixth among large airports worldwide, with 87.33% of departures taking off on time.However, the airport’s performance has dipped from Sept, when it ranked fourth globally with an on-time departure rate of 90.06%. In Oct, Chennai ranked ahead of Bengaluru, Kolkata, and Hyderabad. Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport was 10th globally with 87% on-time departures, followed by Kolkata at 16th with 85.34% and Hyderabad at 19th with 84.76%.Chennai airport recorded 11,189 tracked flights across 65 routes in Oct. Its on-time departure rate of 87.33% was 2.73 percentage points lower than in Sept, and the airport slipped two places. The rankings are based on the percentage of flights departing within the stipulated time. Cirium tracks flight operations across airports worldwide to assess punctuality.Airport director M Raja Kishore said punctuality had improved over the past few months after a series of measures on the airside, terminal and city side. “Chennai airport was in 10th place in Aug, but has climbed the list due to sustained efforts. With the inauguration of the integrated Terminal 3, the airport’s performance will become better,” he said.Globally, Harbin Taiping International Airport in China topped the large-airport category with 97.58% on-time departures, followed by Sanya Phoenix International Airport, also in China, at 94.37%. Lima International Airport in Peru was third at 89.59%.The Oct assessment covered 409,973 flights, 68.45 million seats and 1,969 routes across the airports in the rankings.GFX:Chennai’s performance: September vs October (pl use email version)| Parameter | September | October || —————— | ——— | ——- || Global ranking | 4 | 6 || On-time departures | 90.06% | 87.33% || Tracked flights | 10,023 | 11,189 || Routes served | 64 | 65 |
