Busiest airlines, January 2026

185,750 flights, American Airlines (AA)

The busiest airline in January 2026 was American Airlines (AA), with 185,750 flights.

January 2026 (1–31 January 2026) Source: www.airportia.com/statistics/busiest-airlines/2026-01/

Period: 1–31 January 2026 (UTC). Data calculated on 3 November 2026 at 04:00 UTC. In the average departure delay, early and cancelled flights count as 0. How we calculate this

Top 15 airlines by flights
Busiest airlines, January 2026: top 15, flights1–31 January 2026. Source: Airportia.1. American Airlines (AA): 185,750 (180,047 flights)1. American Airlines (AA)185,7502. Delta Air Lines (DL): 143,549 (138,872 flights)2. Delta Air Lines (DL)143,5493. United Airlines (UA): 140,266 (136,058 flights)3. United Airlines (UA)140,2664. Southwest Airlines (WN): 107,403 (104,150 flights)4. Southwest Airlines (WN)107,4035. Ryanair (FR): 70,469 (69,173 flights)5. Ryanair (FR)70,4696. China Southern Airlines (CZ): 69,202 (66,928 flights)6. China Southern Airlines (CZ)69,2027. China Eastern Airlines (MU): 68,897 (66,633 flights)7. China Eastern Airlines (MU)68,8978. IndiGo Airlines (6E): 65,035 (62,960 flights)8. IndiGo Airlines (6E)65,0359. LATAM Airlines (LA): 53,024 (51,287 flights)9. LATAM Airlines (LA)53,02410. Air China (CA): 46,968 (45,416 flights)10. Air China (CA)46,96811. Alaska Airlines (AS): 44,521 (43,244 flights)11. Alaska Airlines (AS)44,52112. Turkish Airlines (TK): 40,600 (39,300 flights)12. Turkish Airlines (TK)40,60013. AirAsia (AK): 34,293 (33,216 flights)13. AirAsia (AK)34,29314. easyJet (U2): 33,096 (32,429 flights)14. easyJet (U2)33,09615. All Nippon Airways (NH): 32,907 (31,864 flights)15. All Nippon Airways (NH)32,907

Every airline with at least one flight in the period and reported departure times is included.

Full ranking: 744 airlines

The first 100 are shown here; the CSV has all 744.

# Airline Country Flights Avg departure delay Cancelled Flights
1 American Airlines (AA) United States United States 185,750 37.6 min 6.7% 180,047
2 Delta Air Lines (DL) United States United States 143,549 31.5 min 4.1% 138,872
3 United Airlines (UA) United States United States 140,266 33.7 min 2.9% 136,058
4 Southwest Airlines (WN) United States United States 107,403 21.8 min 2.5% 104,150
5 Ryanair (FR) Ireland Ireland 70,469 23.4 min 0.1% 69,173
6 China Southern Airlines (CZ) China China 69,202 19.3 min 0.6% 66,928
7 China Eastern Airlines (MU) China China 68,897 18.6 min 1.7% 66,633
8 IndiGo Airlines (6E) India India 65,035 30.5 min 0.7% 62,960
9 LATAM Airlines (LA) Chile Chile 53,024 21.4 min 1.4% 51,287
10 Air China (CA) China China 46,968 18.3 min 1.9% 45,416
11 Alaska Airlines (AS) United States United States 44,521 26.2 min 2.5% 43,244
12 Turkish Airlines (TK) Turkey Turkey 40,600 34.2 min 0.1% 39,300
13 AirAsia (AK) Malaysia Malaysia 34,293 28.0 min 0.0% 33,216
14 easyJet (U2) United Kingdom United Kingdom 33,096 28.8 min 1.7% 32,429
15 All Nippon Airways (NH) Japan Japan 32,907 19.5 min 2.6% 31,864
16 Air Canada (AC) Canada Canada 28,787 49.0 min 8.8% 27,887
17 Japan Airlines (JL) Japan Japan 27,917 22.4 min 2.4% 27,018
18 Wizz Air (W6) Hungary Hungary 27,647 35.1 min 0.2% 27,116
19 Lufthansa (LH) Germany Germany 25,348 29.8 min 0.3% 24,573
20 JetBlue Airways (B6) United States United States 25,103 38.1 min 6.0% 24,409
21 Avianca (AV) Colombia Colombia 24,723 23.6 min 1.5% 23,930
22 British Airways (BA) United Kingdom United Kingdom 24,435 29.6 min 1.6% 23,658
23 Azul Brazilian Airlines (AD) Brazil Brazil 23,985 17.0 min 1.0% 23,182
24 Air France (AF) France France 23,926 37.6 min 4.4% 23,137
25 Qantas (QF) Australia Australia 23,836 14.8 min 1.9% 22,985
26 GOL Transportes Aeros (G3) Brazil Brazil 23,214 19.7 min 0.6% 22,468
27 Hainan Airlines (HU) China China 22,870 18.1 min 0.6% 22,118
28 Aeroflot (SU) Russia Russia 21,201 27.3 min 0.2% 20,601
29 Qatar Airways (QR) Qatar Qatar 21,005 28.7 min 0.2% 20,340
30 Air India (AI) India India 20,881 34.8 min 0.1% 20,269
31 Shenzhen Airlines (ZH) China China 20,526 20.7 min 0.9% 19,860
32 Pegasus Airlines (PC) Turkey Turkey 19,648 37.1 min 3.0% 19,030
33 KLM (KL) Netherlands Netherlands 19,238 34.7 min 14.2% 18,618
34 Xiamen Airlines (MF) China China 19,216 17.0 min 1.5% 18,573
35 WestJet (WS) Canada Canada 19,063 42.7 min 3.0% 18,482
36 Shandong Airlines (SC) China China 18,517 17.6 min 0.7% 17,899
37 Sichuan Airlines (3U) China China 18,119 17.9 min 0.6% 17,527
38 Saudi Arabian Airlines (SV) Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 18,053 23.5 min 0.6% 17,469
39 SAS (SK) Norway Norway 17,860 24.6 min 1.8% 17,269
40 Iberia (IB) Spain Spain 17,532 24.6 min 0.7% 16,980
41 Emirates (EK) United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 17,280 35.4 min 0.2% 16,726
42 Volaris (Y4) Mexico Mexico 16,858 18.2 min 0.9% 16,359
43 Frontier Airlines (F9) United States United States 16,708 37.4 min 2.9% 16,481
44 Jetstar Airways (JQ) Australia Australia 16,512 29.9 min 1.9% 15,974
45 VietJet Air (VJ) Vietnam Vietnam 16,502 31.2 min 0.0% 15,972
46 Spring Airlines (9C) China China 16,389 21.2 min 0.3% 15,859
47 Ethiopian Airlines (ET) Ethiopia Ethiopia 16,290 23.7 min 0.0% 15,784
48 CEBU Pacific Air (5J) Philippines Philippines 15,928 22.9 min 0.0% 15,419
49 Aeroméxico (AM) Mexico Mexico 15,808 25.3 min 0.4% 15,294
50 Vueling (VY) Spain Spain 15,102 19.1 min 0.8% 14,676
51 VivaAerobus (VB) Mexico Mexico 14,978 21.1 min 0.7% 14,555
52 Air New Zealand (NZ) New Zealand New Zealand 14,819 18.3 min 1.8% 14,340
53 Batik Air (ID) Indonesia Indonesia 14,745 41.3 min 2.1% 14,259
54 Air India Express (IX) India India 14,483 31.7 min 0.0% 14,008
55 Spirit Airlines (NK) United States United States 14,301 34.3 min 6.2% 13,977
56 Vietnam Airlines (VN) Vietnam Vietnam 14,106 23.0 min 0.0% 13,662
57 Virgin Australia (VA) Australia Australia 13,991 18.7 min 0.8% 13,527
58 Cathay Pacific (CX) Hong Kong Hong Kong 12,843 33.2 min 0.3% 12,437
59 Korean Air (KE) South Korea South Korea 12,679 26.7 min 0.4% 12,263
60 Copa Airlines (CM) Panama Panama 12,670 17.6 min 0.3% 12,259
61 Thai AirAsia (FD) Thailand Thailand 12,428 1.2 min 0.0% 12,028
62 AJet (VF) Singapore Singapore 12,174 29.9 min 0.1% 11,820
63 Air Arabia (G9) United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 11,769 32.0 min 0.0% 11,391
64 flydubai (FZ) United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 11,747 37.6 min 0.6% 11,380
65 Transavia (HV) Netherlands Netherlands 11,524 30.4 min 0.4% 11,253
66 Philippine Airlines (PR) Philippines Philippines 11,376 20.7 min 0.9% 11,008
67 Singapore Airlines (SQ) Singapore Singapore 11,120 26.5 min 0.1% 10,767
68 Lion Airlines (JT) Indonesia Indonesia 10,930 77.2 min 0.0% 10,582
69 China Express Airlines (G5) China China 10,645 17.8 min 4.2% 10,300
70 Malaysia Airlines (MH) Malaysia Malaysia 10,583 22.6 min 0.7% 10,304
71 flynas (XY) Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia 10,536 26.7 min 0.0% 10,211
72 Tianjin Airlines (GS) China China 10,286 20.2 min 1.0% 9,967
73 Etihad Airways (EY) United Arab Emirates United Arab Emirates 10,088 25.7 min 0.0% 9,773
74 Juneyao Airlines (HO) China China 10,048 22.6 min 0.9% 9,721
75 ITA Airways (AZ) Italy Italy 9,917 18.4 min 0.2% 9,590
76 Widerøe (WF) Norway Norway 9,859 11.2 min 0.0% 9,492
77 Finnair (AY) Finland Finland 9,803 29.7 min 1.8% 9,493
78 Aerolineas Argentinas (AR) Argentina Argentina 9,567 28.0 min 0.2% 9,271
79 TAP Portugal (TP) Portugal Portugal 9,481 32.7 min 0.0% 9,196
80 Allegiant Air (G4) United States United States 9,354 29.8 min 2.1% 9,271
81 LOT (LO) Poland Poland 9,154 37.9 min 0.2% 8,848
82 Shanghai Airlines (FM) China China 9,146 22.1 min 1.5% 8,849
83 Chengdu Airlines (EU) China China 9,072 15.7 min 1.3% 8,782
84 Flex Flight (W2) Denmark Denmark 8,885 0.2 min 0.0% 8,594
85 JetSMART (JA) Chile Chile 8,849 21.7 min 0.0% 8,570
86 Norwegian (DY) Norway Norway 8,526 29.5 min 0.2% 8,284
87 Loong Airlines (GJ) China China 8,513 19.4 min 0.3% 8,220
88 SkyWest Airlines (OO) United States United States 7,937 45.4 min 1.2% 7,697
89 Aer Lingus (EI) Ireland Ireland 7,912 22.0 min 2.6% 7,696
90 EgyptAir (MS) Egypt Egypt 7,878 43.0 min 0.3% 7,657
91 Eurowings (EW) Germany Germany 7,864 32.8 min 0.1% 7,607
92 Binter Canarias (NT) Spain Spain 7,715 13.1 min 0.0% 7,476
93 S7 Airlines (S7) Russia Russia 7,611 17.6 min 0.0% 7,377
94 Swiss (LX) Switzerland Switzerland 7,591 32.0 min 2.1% 7,380
95 Capital Airlines (JD) China China 7,516 19.6 min 0.3% 7,264
96 Austrian Airlines (OS) Austria Austria 7,426 25.7 min 0.4% 7,206
97 Citilink (QG) Indonesia Indonesia 7,358 24.3 min 0.0% 7,136
98 Thai Airways (TG) Thailand Thailand 7,326 29.1 min 0.2% 7,092
99 Hawaiian Airlines (HA) United States United States 7,212 25.3 min 1.3% 6,990
100 Air Algérie (AH) Algeria Algeria 7,200 26.0 min 0.2% 6,974

Cite this

The busiest airline in January 2026 was American Airlines (AA), with 185,750 flights. Source: Airportia, "Busiest airlines, January 2026" (1–31 January 2026), https://www.airportia.com/statistics/busiest-airlines/2026-01/, retrieved 3 November 2026.

Download the data (CSV)

Free to use, including commercially, under CC BY 4.0 : credit Airportia and link to this page. How to use our data. Press and data questions: contact@airportia.com.

How we calculate this

Which flights count
Every flight in Airportia's schedule data (from the Aviation Edge feed) that was scheduled to depart in the period, counted once: code-share listings of the same flight are left out. Days are UTC calendar days.
Departure delay
The actual departure time (or the latest reported estimate when no actual time came in) minus the scheduled departure time. A flight that left early or on time counts as 0 minutes. A flight with no reported departure time, cancelled flights included, also counts as 0, so where the feed is patchy the average is lower than the real one.
Average departure delay
The mean of those delays over all counted flights in the period. It is not the share of flights more than 15 minutes late (the usual on-time measure), and it is about departures, not arrivals.
Why there is no "most punctual" ranking
Because flights without a reported departure time count as 0 minutes, a low average can mean missing data rather than punctuality, and the stored figures do not say how many flights had a reported time. So we only rank the most delayed, and the delay rankings leave out every airport, airline or country whose average delay is exactly 0, which almost always means that no times were reported.
Cancellations
Flights with the status Cancelled, as a share of the counted flights in the period.
Airlines
Flights operated by the airline, wherever they depart from. Cargo airlines are not included. They have their own ranking, Busiest cargo airlines.
Period
A month combines three 10-day periods: days 1–10, 11–20 and the last ten days of the month, weighted by departures. In a 31-day month day 21 is not included; in February the second and third periods overlap by a day or two.
Minimum sample
Every airline with at least one flight in the period and reported departure times is included.

Coverage follows the schedule feed: some regional airports and airlines are missing or report few actual times. These are Airportia's own figures, not official statistics from airports, airlines or regulators.