Qantas takes triple crown in on-time performance and cancellations

This is a departure from the typical pattern, which usually sees Qantas beat Virgin for on-time departures and arrivals, but lose out on cancellations. This is the largest margin by which Qantas has beaten Virgin in on-time departures since December 2023.

Jetstar had the lowest rate of cancellations among major airlines at 0.8 per cent, but also finished below the others for on-time performance at 71.4 per cent on-time departures and 73.8 per cent on-time arrivals.

On-time performance figures across all participating airlines in BITRE reporting was lower than the long-term average, but completion rates were higher.

“September was another strong month for Qantas, with on-time performance remaining above the long-term average and our cancellation rate falling to its lowest level in more than eight years,” a Qantas spokesperson said.

“Credit to our teams who did a fantastic job getting our customers on their way during a very busy month, which included school holidays and the footy finals.”

Virgin says it still has the highest completion rate for major airlines across the whole calendar year, with weather and air traffic control difficulties having impacted on-time performance in September.

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“We know punctuality matters to our guests, and our on-time performance (OTP) has improved each year since 2022,” a spokesperson said.

“Across the calendar year to September, Virgin Australia has recorded the highest completion result of the major Australian airlines at 98.8 per cent, reflecting our focus on getting guests to their destination on the day they planned to travel.

“In September, Virgin Australia recorded a completion rate of 98.4 per cent and an OTP of 74.2 per cent.”

Air traffic control has become a focal point for discussions of on-time performance after well-publicised delays, particularly at Sydney Airport.

In its Australian Aviation Network Overview report for September 2026, Airservices Australia said ATFM ground delays accounted for 2.4 per cent of total network delay, with 0.4 per cent attributable to Airservices.

“Adverse weather, particularly in Melbourne where weather-related ground delays more than doubled year-on-year, along with demand exceeding scheduled capacity in Perth, contributed to two thirds of ATFM ground delays,” the report read.

“Our workforce constraints in Sydney contributed to four Ground Delay Programs. However, targeted school holiday resilience measures protected the peak travel period, with no Airservices-attributable ground delays recorded after 21 September.”

According to Airservices, national air traffic service variations “fell to their lowest level in six months and remained 92% below the monthly average in the previous three years”.

“Airservices is actively progressing the Sydney KSA Service Resilience Plan, focused on strengthening workforce planning, recruitment, training, roster resilience and system capability,” it said.

“These initiatives are intended to restore service consistency at Australia’s busiest airport while supporting the safe, efficient and resilient operation of the broader national aviation network.”

Australia’s aviation network recorded its busiest day of 2026 on 24 September, with a total of 2,773 passenger flights.