A great source of pride in the airline industry is the ability to deliver what the industry calls ‘OTP’, also known as On Time Performance, which is defined by speedy ground handling and aircraft turnaround time. 

 

Airports are ranked in different categories based on the number of passengers they service annually. It is known in the industry to be extremely difficult, if not impossible to rank at 100%, as airlines often face many challenges that are outside of their control such as late connections, baggage handling, and mechanical maintenance.

 

That being said, one of the world’s favourite destinations - Queensland, Australia - does quite well, maintaining consistently strong rankings for two years in a row. 

 

 

In 2015, the Cairns airport fell into the category of airports serving 2.5-5 million passengers, in which they placed 7th. They also fit the category of airports who serve under 10 million passengers annually, placing 13th.

 

Rachel Crowley, Head of Airport Relations, exclaimed that for an airport serving over 700 flights every day, these achievements are the result of a great deal of hard work and co-operation between all parties involved: the Brisbane Airport Corporation; the airline partners; and Air Services Australia.

 

Corporate communications Manager, Helen Laird, thanked everyone who contributed, as Cairns held record-breaking best OTP results in the whole country, at 87.23%.

 

The small airport looks forward to even greater OTP in the future as they are currently undergoing a $1.3 billion parallel runway project that they expect will more than double their system capacity. They have faith that continuous monitoring and the introduction of new improvements will result in increased time performance and customer service. 

 

For the larger scale airports, ranking in categories of airports serving 10-20 million departing seats annually, Brisbane International Airport is another Queensland gem. Currently, they are the 5th best in the world, with an OTP of 86.71%, a slight dip from 4th best in 2015 at 88.31%.

 

Companies such as OAG Air Travel Intelligence drive analytics reports that observe both arrivals and departures within 15 minutes of their determined schedule to help create the OAG’s Punctuality League Report, which in turn helps determine airport rankings. 

 

While Brisbane International Airport fell one place shy of last 2015’s rankings, it held fast in comparison to its competitors. All of those who placed before Brisbane in 2015, amongst them Copenhagen, Moscow Sheremetyevo, and Helsinki, were nowhere to be seen in 2016.

 

Last year Brasilia took Brisbane International Airport’s place in fourth with 87.9%; Salt Lake City came in third with 87.2%; Honolulu rolled into second with 87.53% and taking the gold star was Surabaya with 90.3%.

 

Even if Brisbane International Airport saw some room for opportunity in the last year, at least they were still in the competition! Airport officials agree it’s not only an incredible feat but one to brag about at that. 

 

Queensland leaves the airport industry at the edge of their seat waiting for next year’s reports, as they draw on larger and larger numbers of flights, consistently raising the bar.