Ready for takeoff
Houston airport flies high as one of the world's best for on-time travel

For air travelers, few things are more irritating than flight delays. But for passengers at Houston's George W. Bush Intercontinental Airport, those irritations are relatively minimal.
In a report released January 3 by aviation data provider OAG, IAH ranks No. 9 worldwide for timely takeoffs and landings at major global airports. Last year, 79.25 percent of flights at IAH were on time, the report says.
OAG defines on-time performance as flights that arrive or depart within 15 minutes of their scheduled times. It places airports into five categories (mega, major, large, midsize, and small) based on their passenger capacity.
Elsewhere in Texas, delays are minimal, too. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport flies to the No. 10 spot among mega global airports for timeliness. Last year, 76.78 percent of flights at DFW were on time, the report says.
Austin-Bergstrom International Airport ranks 19th among large global airports. In 2019, 80.12 percent of its flights were on time. San Antonio International Airport lands at the No. 12 spot among midsize global airports, with an on-time record last year of 81.2 percent — the best record of the Texas airports studied. (Houston’s Hobby Airport and Dallas Love Field weren't included in the report.)
In the OAG report, Moscow’s Sheremetyevo International Airport lands in the No. 1 spot among mega airports, with an on-time record of 86.87 percent in 2019. For mega airports in the U.S., Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport claims the top ranking (83.74 percent), followed by Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, Los Angeles International Airport, New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport, Denver International Airport, and DFW.