The 10 most delayed airlines in the world (and where Qantas ranks)
Nobody likes having their flight delayed.
But it is of course part of travel.
From weather to staffing issues, engineering problems, congestion on the runway and other complications out of passengers' control, airlines do their best to get travellers to their destination.
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A traveller app has now come up with a ranking of the most delayed airlines. Getty Images/iStockphoto
But just how well are airlines faring?
A traveller app has come up with a ranking of the most delayed airlines.
Flighty has crunched the numbers from its users.
The data found its frequent flyers flew on 22 million flights throughout 2025.
But delays meant they faced an extra 1.4 million hours of extra sitting and waiting - an average of 14 extra minutes per flight.
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Low cost British airline Ryanair was the most delayed globally, data from a travel app says. Getty
Low cost British airline Ryanair topped the list of the most delayed flights globally, according to Flighty.
In America, Frontier Airlines kept passengers waiting the most ahead of Jet Blue and SouthWest.
Closer to home, Qantas ranked at number six on the most delayed list globally.
Flighty data found 26 per cent of Qantas flights were delayed.
9Travel has contacted Qantas for comment.
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Despite the ranking, recent data shows the Flying Kangaroo is actually doing well.
In November it came in 20th in the world on the Official Aviation Guide rankings, with 75 per cent of flights on time.
In September, both Qantas and Jetstar topped the leaderboard for overall reliability and getting domestic flights away on time, according to Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics data.
The data found Qantas (Qantas and QantasLink) was the most punctual major domestic airline with 81.1 per cent of flights departing on time across the country.
The airline's cancellation rate fell to 2.8 per cent.
In October, 76 per cent of flights departed on time, slightly higher than Virgin Australia.
Qantas was at number six on the most delayed list according to a travel app. Getty
World's most delayed airlines according to Flighty
1. Ryanair
2. Air France
3. easyJet
4. Frontier Airlines
5. Lufthansa
6. Qantas
7. KLM Royal Dutch
8. Air Canada
9. JetBlue Airways
10. South West Airlines
Qantas a step closer to London and NYC direct flights
Last month, Qantas confirmed it's another step closer to offering direct, non-stop flights from Australia to London and New York.
The airline's first Project Sunrise aircraft entered the "final stages" of production on the Airbus assembly line in France.
World's most delayed airlines according to Flighty Supplied
Qantas' first Project Sunrise aircraft is being built. Supplied/Qantas
"Project Sunrise now is an aircraft, we've seen it roll out of the production line today, and we can almost touch and feel it," Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson said.
"It is heading into the final stage of production now, where it's going to have some of the key product interiors fitted."
Christmas rush
Meanwhile, Sydney Airport is set to experience its busiest Christmas season for international travel ever with 2.7 million international passengers and 3.14 million domestic passengers expected.
The busiest day for international travel will be 3 January 2026.
The peak day for domestic travel was last Friday, 12 December.
