No Philippine carrier in most punctual list in June

MANILA, Philippines — None of the local airlines secured a spot on the list of the most punctual operators, as they grappled with a series of flight disruptions that inconvenienced passengers.

Cirium’s On-Time Performance Monthly Report for June did not feature any Philippine carriers, marking the second consecutive month in which domestic operators failed to achieve industry-leading punctuality.

Data obtained by The STAR showed that the flight movement at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport slowed to 22,462 in June from 23,411 in May.

Aviation executives and officials blamed the decline in flight activities to the arrival of the rainy season that caused red lightning alerts. When such an alert is issued, airlines must halt all of their aircraft and ground movements, including boarding and deplaning, as a safety measure.

This interrupts airport operations, leading to adjustments in flight schedules. Airlines can resume their aviation activities only when authorities lift the red lightning alert.

Apart from this, the country’s largest airlines are suffering from a compromised fleet with nearly a dozen of aircraft grounded by the shortage in aircraft parts, particularly jet engines.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) and low-cost operator Cebu Pacific have parked a total of 11 aircraft on delays in the delivery of jet engines manufactured by Pratt & Whitney.

PAL and Cebu Pacific are decreasing their scheduled flights until September due to the lack of planes to serve them.

For Asia and the Pacific, Cirium named All Nippon Airways as the most punctual airline in June with an on-time performance of 84.29 percent. Air New Zealand came next with a timeliness rate of 83.99 percent, as IndiGo ranked third with 83.78 percent.

Japan Airlines and Thai AirAsia registered on-time arrivals of 83.19 percent and 79.01 percent, respectively, for June. Vistara, Garuda Indonesia, Korean Air, Singapore Airlines and Malaysia Airlines rounded up the list of most punctual carriers in the Asia-Pacific region.

Although the Philippines suffered from aviation disruptions, Cirium said that flight cancellations in Asia and the Pacific declined to 25,625 in June, from 29,315 in May.

The last time that a Philippine carrier landed in Cirium’s list was in April, when PAL ranked 9th with an on-time performance of 77.37 percent.