Airline delays by country, May 2026

32.7 min average departure delay (early and cancelled flights count as 0), Israel

The country with at least 100 flights a day whose airlines had the longest average departure delay in May 2026 was Israel: average departure delay 32.7 min (early and cancelled flights count as 0).

May 2026 (1–31 May 2026) Source: www.airportia.com/statistics/countries/2026-05/

Period: 1–31 May 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, May 2026: top 15, average departure delay1–31 May 2026. Source: Airportia.1. Israel: 32.7 min (5,365 flights)1. Israel32.7 min2. Tunisia: 31.0 min (3,432 flights)2. Tunisia31.0 min3. Portugal: 30.9 min (11,631 flights)3. Portugal30.9 min4. Hong Kong: 27.5 min (17,607 flights)4. Hong Kong27.5 min5. Ethiopia: 26.1 min (14,216 flights)5. Ethiopia26.1 min6. United States: 25.9 min (741,736 flights)6. United States25.9 min7. United Kingdom: 25.2 min (93,114 flights)7. United Kingdom25.2 min8. Pakistan: 24.9 min (4,012 flights)8. Pakistan24.9 min9. Germany: 22.5 min (61,330 flights)9. Germany22.5 min10. Switzerland: 22.3 min (13,902 flights)10. Switzerland22.3 min11. India: 22.2 min (96,866 flights)11. India22.2 min11. Netherlands: 22.2 min (34,143 flights)11. Netherlands22.2 min13. United Arab Emirates: 22.1 min (33,261 flights)13. United Arab Emirates22.1 min14. Greece: 21.3 min (16,910 flights)14. Greece21.3 min15. Qatar: 21.2 min (13,289 flights)15. Qatar21.2 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. 98 smaller countries were left out. 6 countries with an average delay of exactly 0 were left out too: that almost always means no departure times were reported.

Full ranking: 76 countries

# Country Average departure delay Cancelled Flights
1 Israel 32.7 min 0.3% 5,365
2 Tunisia 31.0 min 1.7% 3,432
3 Portugal 30.9 min 1.4% 11,631
4 Hong Kong 27.5 min 0.1% 17,607
5 Ethiopia 26.1 min 0.7% 14,216
6 United States 25.9 min 0.8% 741,736
7 United Kingdom 25.2 min 0.7% 93,114
8 Pakistan 24.9 min 1.6% 4,012
9 Germany 22.5 min 0.7% 61,330
10 Switzerland 22.3 min 0.5% 13,902
11 India 22.2 min 0.5% 96,866
11 Netherlands 22.2 min 0.4% 34,143
13 United Arab Emirates 22.1 min 1.1% 33,261
14 Greece 21.3 min 0.1% 16,910
15 Qatar 21.2 min 0.4% 13,289
16 Iceland 20.8 min 1.8% 3,391
17 Russia 20.7 min 0.7% 64,923
18 Turkey 20.6 min 0.2% 63,015
19 Algeria 20.2 min 1.4% 6,459
20 Belgium 19.9 min 0.5% 7,123
21 Bulgaria 19.8 min 0.4% 3,999
22 Singapore 19.7 min 0.0% 25,593
23 Italy 19.6 min 1.3% 18,616
24 Egypt 19.5 min 0.9% 12,534
25 Spain 19.2 min 0.2% 60,635
25 Czech Republic 19.2 min 0.0% 3,274
27 Ireland 19.1 min 0.2% 109,407
27 Taiwan 19.1 min 0.4% 21,840
29 Canada 19.0 min 1.8% 71,883
29 Uganda 19.0 min 0.3% 3,753
31 Hungary 18.6 min 0.0% 26,862
32 Serbia 18.5 min 0.0% 3,310
33 Latvia 18.2 min 0.2% 7,640
33 Azerbaijan 18.2 min 0.1% 4,203
35 Mexico 18.1 min 0.1% 40,001
36 Poland 17.9 min 0.2% 9,823
37 France 17.4 min 0.4% 33,173
38 South Korea 17.2 min 0.1% 42,256
39 Morocco 17.1 min 1.1% 6,620
40 Kuwait 16.8 min 9.5% 3,416
41 Chile 16.7 min 0.5% 52,072
42 Panama 16.1 min 0.1% 11,419
43 Colombia 15.6 min 0.3% 29,161
43 Jordan 15.6 min 1.0% 3,393
45 China 15.5 min 3.9% 359,812
46 Kazakhstan 15.3 min 0.3% 4,541
47 Argentina 15.2 min 0.1% 7,219
48 Philippines 15.0 min 1.0% 26,470
48 Finland 15.0 min 1.3% 8,864
50 Vietnam 14.9 min 0.0% 22,683
51 Australia 14.8 min 0.8% 56,183
51 Kenya 14.8 min 0.2% 10,019
51 Oman 14.8 min 0.2% 4,262
54 Brazil 14.3 min 0.7% 37,320
55 Japan 14.1 min 0.7% 76,962
56 Bangladesh 13.5 min 0.5% 4,564
57 Malaysia 12.5 min 0.7% 39,071
57 Austria 12.5 min 0.3% 19,339
59 Saudi Arabia 12.2 min 0.7% 24,308
59 South Africa 12.2 min 0.7% 8,093
61 New Zealand 12.1 min 1.1% 12,826
62 Indonesia 11.8 min 1.6% 48,665
63 Norway 10.8 min 1.0% 43,756
64 Bahamas 10.1 min 0.2% 3,165
65 Thailand 9.5 min 0.3% 19,739
66 Venezuela 9.0 min 0.0% 4,444
67 Nepal 8.9 min 0.0% 8,527
68 Curacao 8.7 min 2.1% 3,550
69 Nigeria 8.6 min 0.3% 9,276
70 Myanmar (Burma) 8.4 min 0.3% 4,275
71 Malta 6.7 min 0.1% 7,232
72 Denmark 5.4 min 0.0% 12,020
73 Tanzania 4.2 min 0.2% 6,410
74 Iran 3.1 min 1.7% 8,207
75 Papua New Guinea 2.0 min 0.0% 3,173
76 Belize 0.1 min 0.0% 7,812

Cite this

The country with at least 100 flights a day whose airlines had the longest average departure delay in May 2026 was Israel: average departure delay 32.7 min (early and cancelled flights count as 0). Source: Airportia, "Airline delays by country, May 2026" (1–31 May 2026), https://www.airportia.com/statistics/countries/2026-05/, 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. 98 smaller countries were left out. 6 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.