Detroit Metro Airport ranks No. 2 for on-time departures in 2022

Air travelers faced delays and cancellations during the holidays, one of the busiest times of the year, as winter weather set in. Still, according to a recent ranking of percentage of on-time departures by an aviation analytics firm, Michigan's biggest airport ranked No. 2 nationally, and No. 4 globally.

Of Detroit Metro's nearly 272,000 flights last year, 82.62% of them were on time, according to Cirium, a London-based company. That ranked slightly below Salt Lake City International, which had 83.87% of its flights come in on time.

International check-in counters at the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus on Dec. 22, 2022.
International check-in counters at the McNamara Terminal at Detroit Metro Airport in Romulus on Dec. 22, 2022.

Internationally, the rankings were:

  1. Haneda in Tokyo, Japan — 90.33%

  2. Kempegowda International in Bangalore, India — 84.08%

  3. Salt Lake City International — 83.87%

  4. Detroit Metro — 82.62%

  5. Philadelphia International — 82.54%

  6. Minneapolis-St. Paul International — 81.95%

  7. Indira Gandhi International in Delhi, India — 81.84%

  8. Seattle-Tacoma International — 81.04%

  9. El Dorado International in Bogotá, Colombia — 80.72%

  10. Charlotte Douglas International — 80.68%

More:Detroit Metro Airport ranks No. 2 in America in on-time performance, website says

More:Southwest Airlines cancellations piling up at Detroit Metro Airport

Still, Detroit Metro recommends arriving at least two hours ahead of domestic flights and three hours before international ones.

Cirium, which published its findings Jan. 3, reported that the past year "saw a challenging operational environment" around the world, particularly in North America and Europe, with delays and other problems. In addition to the weather, the airlines also struggled to anticipate the recovery in demand from the pandemic.

Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or fwitsil@freepress.com.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Metro among best airports in the world for on-time departures