GACA issues April report on airport, airline punctuality
The report measures performance based on departures and arrivals occurring within 15 minutes of the scheduled time and complements GACA's other monthly assessments of service quality at airports and airlines.
Among international airports with more than 15 million passengers annually, Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport ranked first with a 90% compliance rate.
In the category of international airports with five to 15 million passengers annually, Dammam's King Fahd International Airport topped with 87% compliance.
As for international airports with two to five million passengers per year, Abha International Airport led with a 91% compliance rate.
NEOM Bay International Airport took first place in the fourth category of international airports with less than two million passengers annually, with a 95% compliance rate. Meanwhile, for domestic airports, Tarif Airport led with 100% compliance.
The following table breaks down the on-time departure performance of Saudi airports in April 2025:
Compliance with Departure Times
Category
Airport
Current Month
Previous Month
Int'l Airports (>15 mln passengers annually)
King Khalid International (Riyadh)
90%
93%
King Abdulaziz International (Jeddah)
78%
84%
Int'l Airports (5-15 mln passengers annually)
King Fahd International (Dammam)
87%
93%
Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Madinah)
72%
85%
Int'l Airports (2-5 mln passengers annually)
Abha International Airport
91%
95%
King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Jizan)
90%
95%
Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz International Airport (Tabuk)
83%
90%
Int'l Airports (<2 mln passengers annually)
Neom Bay International Airport
95%
95%
Al-Ahsa International Airport
93%
84%
Hail International Airport
92%
94%
Najran International Airport
90%
92%
Arar International Airport
90%
94%
AlUla International Airport
89%
97%
Al Qaisumah International Airport
87%
88%
Prince Naif bin Abdulaziz International Airport Qassim)
86%
92%
Al Jouf International Airport
84%
88%
Taif International Airport
82%
88%
Prince Abdulmohsen bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Yanbu
74%
81%
Domestic Airports
Tarif Airport
100%
100%
Wadi Al-Dawasir Airport
100%
92%
King Saud bin Abdulaziz Airport (Al-Baha)
99%
100%
Bisha Airport
94%
88%
Al-Qurayyat Airport
83%
93%
Al-Dawadmi Airport
75%
100%
Sharurah Airport
75%
96%
Rafha Airport
73%
97%
Saudi Airlines (Saudia) topped national carriers in terms of compliance to arrival and departure flights, with 89%. Meanwhile, flynas came in second with 86% for compliance to arrivals and 91% for departures.
National Carriers' Compliance to Arrival/Departure Times
Carrier
Arrivals
Departures
Current Month
Previous Month
Current Month
Previous Month
Saudia
89%
95%
89%
94%
flynas
86%
91%
91%
91%
Flyadeal
87%
91%
91%
94%
The report showed that the Riyadh-Abha route, Riyadh-Tabuk route, and Riyadh-Dammam route topped domestic routes in terms of compliance at 96%.
Compliance of Top five Domestic Routes*
Route
Departure Compliance in Current Month
Departure Compliance in Previous Month
Riyadh to Abha
96%
98%
Riyadh to Tabuk
96%
98%
Riyadh to Dammam
96%
95%
Jizan to Riyadh
95%
95%
Riyadh to Jizan
95%
97%
*Selected from the 20 busiest routes.
Internationally, the Riyadh-Amman route topped with a 97% compliance rate, followed by the Riyadh-Dubai route (94%).
Compliance of Top Five International Routes*
Route
Compliance of Departure Flights
Current Month
Previous Month
Riyadh to Amman
97%
99%
Riyadh to Bahrain
94%
96%
Jeddah to Amman
94%
92%
Riyadh to Dubai
93%
98%
Riyadh to Kuwait
92%
93%
*Selected from the 20 busiest routes.
GACA indicated that cancelled flights are excluded when calculating the compliance rate. The actual time is calculated when the aircraft starts moving (push back from the stand) and when it stops moving (on stand with brakes on).
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