Photo: Shutterstock The March 2026 On-Time Performance Report from Cirium highlights a sharp shift in global airline reliability, with cancellations rising significantly compared to the previous month.
Worldwide, flight cancellations jumped by 111%, increasing from 43,904 in February to 92,523 in March, reflecting growing operational challenges across several regions.
The impact, as expected, was not evenly distributed. A surprise came from Latin America, which was the only region to record an improvement, as its cancellation rate went down by 36%. To the opposite poll, the Middle East and Africa saw the most dramatic change, with cancellations rising by 966%.
Other regions also reported notable increases, with Asia Pacific recording a 72% rise in cancellations, followed by Europe at 33% and North America at 26%.
Alongside these disruptions, the latest on-time performance rankings introduced several new leaders across key markets. Sky Airline ranked first in Latin America, while SAS topped the global airline category. Singapore Airlines led in Asia Pacific, and Austrian Airlines secured the top spot in Europe.