Australian airlines still cancelling, delaying more flights than normal

Australia's major airlines have improved their performance but travellers are still being subjected to far more cancellations and delays than normal.<br/>Data from the Australian government's Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) released today shows less than three-quarters of domestic flights (73.4%) arrived on time in January, and 3.1% were cancelled. While both figures are marked improvements on the December numbers of 63.6 and 5% respectively, they're still well short of the long-term averages of 81 and 2.2%. While last month's cancellation rate is the same as it was for the same period last year, the on-time arrival rate has fallen from 76.7% in 2023. Virgin was the worst of the major airlines when it came to cancellations, scrapping 5.3% of its flights, compared to Qantas at 2.5% and Jetstar at 2.4. Virgin also lagged behind its major rivals when it came to on-time arrivals, with just 67.9% of its flights landing when scheduled.<br/>