Columbia Metropolitan Airport ranked globally for on-time service

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Columbia Metropolitan Airport ranks among the top 20 small airports worldwide for on-time flights in a study based on data collected by travel industry data and analytics company Cirium.

With 10 routes served, CAE has an on-time departure rate of 85.84%, ranking 20th among all small airports globally. Columbia passengers experienced average delays of 64 minutes.

The study tracked 7,404, or 98.92%, of the airport’s total flights throughout 2019.

CAE is the only South Carolina airport in the small airport rankings, which are topped by international locations. Koh Samui Airport in Thailand, where passengers experienced average delays of 15 minutes, received the No. 1 ranking in the category with an on-time departure rate of 95.08%.

Passengers at Japan’s Nagaski Airport experienced the shortest average wait time at 14 minutes.

Manchester-Boston Regional Airport in New Hampshire was the highest-ranking small U.S. airport, tied for 10th with an on-time departure rate of 87.91%.

Des Moines International Airport ranked 12th and Tulsa International Airport 13th. Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Ky., ranked 14th, Tucson International Airport 15th, Spokane International Airport 17th, and Fresno Yosemite International Airport 18th. 

Cirium tracks more than 100,000 flights worldwide per day. This is the 11th year the on-time performance review has been conducted.

The study ranked Russian airline Aeroflot as the most on-time global mainline airline, with 86.68% of its flights arriving on time. Delta Airlines, the 2018 winner, ranked third in 2019 with an on-time rating of 85.69%.

Delta is one of three airlines that serves Columbia Metropolitan Airport, with about 22 flights per day.