Airline delays by country, March 2026

40.3 min average departure delay (early and cancelled flights count as 0), Pakistan

The country with at least 100 flights a day whose airlines had the longest average departure delay in March 2026 was Pakistan: average departure delay 40.3 min (early and cancelled flights count as 0).

March 2026 (1–31 March 2026) Source: www.airportia.com/statistics/countries/2026-03/

Period: 1–31 March 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 countries by average departure delay
Airline delays by country, March 2026: top 15, average departure delay1–31 March 2026. Source: Airportia.1. Pakistan: 40.3 min (4,251 flights)1. Pakistan40.3 min2. Canada: 35.2 min (78,719 flights)2. Canada35.2 min3. United Arab Emirates: 34.5 min (35,464 flights)3. United Arab Emirates34.5 min4. United States: 33.0 min (855,861 flights)4. United States33.0 min5. Hong Kong: 31.3 min (20,054 flights)5. Hong Kong31.3 min6. Saudi Arabia: 29.3 min (32,549 flights)6. Saudi Arabia29.3 min7. Taiwan: 29.0 min (23,081 flights)7. Taiwan29.0 min8. Iceland: 28.5 min (3,984 flights)8. Iceland28.5 min9. Egypt: 27.9 min (15,266 flights)9. Egypt27.9 min10. Portugal: 27.8 min (11,405 flights)10. Portugal27.8 min11. Oman: 27.6 min (5,157 flights)11. Oman27.6 min12. Jordan: 25.9 min (3,739 flights)12. Jordan25.9 min13. Israel: 25.6 min (5,370 flights)13. Israel25.6 min14. United Kingdom: 23.0 min (92,720 flights)14. United Kingdom23.0 min15. India: 22.9 min (108,011 flights)15. India22.9 min

Only countries with at least 3,000 flights in the period (100 a day) are ranked, so a handful of flights cannot top the list. 92 smaller countries were left out. 5 countries with an average delay of exactly 0 were left out too: that almost always means no departure times were reported.

Full ranking: 80 countries

# Country Average departure delay Cancelled Flights
1 Pakistan 40.3 min 9.7% 4,251
2 Canada 35.2 min 3.3% 78,719
3 United Arab Emirates 34.5 min 17.8% 35,464
4 United States 33.0 min 2.2% 855,861
5 Hong Kong 31.3 min 0.2% 20,054
6 Saudi Arabia 29.3 min 2.8% 32,549
7 Taiwan 29.0 min 0.6% 23,081
8 Iceland 28.5 min 5.6% 3,984
9 Egypt 27.9 min 5.7% 15,266
10 Portugal 27.8 min 0.2% 11,405
11 Oman 27.6 min 2.6% 5,157
12 Jordan 25.9 min 16.2% 3,739
13 Israel 25.6 min 18.6% 5,370
14 United Kingdom 23.0 min 1.1% 92,720
15 India 22.9 min 2.8% 108,011
15 Turkey 22.9 min 1.2% 63,934
17 Vietnam 22.8 min 0.0% 32,051
18 Azerbaijan 22.7 min 0.1% 4,215
18 Uzbekistan 22.7 min 1.3% 3,231
20 Malaysia 22.6 min 0.5% 51,998
20 Singapore 22.6 min 0.1% 28,301
22 Switzerland 22.4 min 0.7% 12,345
23 Colombia 21.8 min 0.9% 33,374
24 Indonesia 21.7 min 0.5% 61,274
25 Algeria 21.3 min 0.3% 7,178
26 South Korea 21.1 min 0.1% 45,971
27 Ethiopia 21.0 min 0.1% 14,864
28 Netherlands 20.4 min 1.0% 32,478
28 Argentina 20.4 min 0.2% 9,172
28 Kazakhstan 20.4 min 0.3% 4,479
31 Aruba 20.3 min 0.0% 3,013
32 Germany 19.9 min 2.5% 54,279
33 China 19.8 min 0.8% 434,107
34 Mexico 19.7 min 0.5% 50,599
35 Belgium 19.6 min 0.7% 5,979
35 Bulgaria 19.6 min 0.1% 3,287
37 Chile 19.2 min 0.6% 62,680
38 Russia 18.9 min 0.3% 63,099
38 Spain 18.9 min 0.2% 62,363
38 Italy 18.9 min 0.1% 18,457
38 Curacao 18.9 min 1.0% 3,439
42 Morocco 18.4 min 0.3% 6,646
43 Australia 18.3 min 1.5% 68,328
44 France 18.0 min 0.9% 33,981
45 Poland 17.9 min 0.0% 9,929
46 New Zealand 17.8 min 2.9% 15,912
47 Serbia 17.5 min 0.0% 3,087
48 Ireland 17.4 min 0.5% 94,652
49 Japan 17.3 min 0.6% 90,944
50 Uganda 17.2 min 0.2% 4,734
51 Philippines 17.1 min 0.5% 32,568
52 Hungary 16.9 min 0.3% 25,739
52 Bahamas 16.9 min 0.2% 3,405
54 Brazil 16.8 min 0.6% 43,525
55 Latvia 16.7 min 0.1% 5,600
56 South Africa 16.4 min 0.4% 11,081
57 Panama 15.7 min 0.0% 12,437
58 Bangladesh 15.3 min 2.0% 4,839
59 Kenya 14.4 min 0.7% 9,813
60 Austria 13.8 min 0.3% 16,496
61 Greece 13.7 min 0.8% 14,201
62 Qatar 13.3 min 49.4% 14,840
63 Finland 13.1 min 0.7% 9,546
64 Norway 12.9 min 0.9% 43,289
65 Thailand 12.4 min 0.1% 34,743
66 Sri Lanka 12.2 min 3.7% 3,394
67 Bolivia 10.7 min 0.0% 3,017
68 Nepal 10.4 min 0.1% 6,369
69 Myanmar (Burma) 9.8 min 0.3% 4,553
69 Venezuela 9.8 min 0.0% 3,683
71 Nigeria 9.4 min 0.4% 12,233
72 Costa Rica 9.1 min 0.0% 4,945
73 Tanzania 7.4 min 1.6% 5,877
74 Malta 6.0 min 2.2% 3,838
75 Kuwait 5.0 min 4.4% 4,408
76 Denmark 4.7 min 0.0% 9,619
77 Papua New Guinea 3.5 min 0.0% 3,621
78 Iran 3.2 min 0.8% 4,380
79 Bahrain 2.7 min 82.5% 4,042
80 Belize 0.1 min 0.0% 8,806

Cite this

The country with at least 100 flights a day whose airlines had the longest average departure delay in March 2026 was Pakistan: average departure delay 40.3 min (early and cancelled flights count as 0). Source: Airportia, "Airline delays by country, March 2026" (1–31 March 2026), https://www.airportia.com/statistics/countries/2026-03/, retrieved 3 November 2026.

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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.
Countries
Flights of the airlines registered in the country, wherever they fly, not flights from the country's airports. Totals include all tracked flights, including cargo.
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
Only countries with at least 3,000 flights in the period (100 a day) are ranked, so a handful of flights cannot top the list. 92 smaller countries were left out. 5 countries with an average delay of exactly 0 were left out too: that almost always means no departure times were reported.

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.