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Cancellation rates hit their lowest level in three years for October, according to Airservices Australia.
Only 1.8 per cent of flights were cancelled in October 2024, around half the rate of October 2023, as detailed in Airservices’ latest Australian Aviation Network Overview report for November, though on-time performance still lags behind the rest of the world.
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“Based on the latest available data from the Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE), the cancellation rate in October was the lowest it has been since 2021 and about half the rate of the same time last year,” the report read.
“This improvement demonstrates a strong focus across industry on maximising flight completion rates for more reliable passenger journeys. Overall OTP has stabilised around 75 per cent, but still below international benchmarks.”
Australia’s overall OTP was the lowest among regions examined in the Airservices report, with North America and MEA recording 84 per cent, Latin America 83 per cent, and Europe and the Asia Pacific 81 per cent on-time performance for October respectively.
Airservices noted that weather disruptions will be a key challenge in summer, having intensified along the east coast in the latter half of November.
“When load factors are high, the ability to mitigate the delay impact could be limited. This is shown in the rapid deterioration of network performance following unplanned events such as runway closures due to aircraft emergency or extreme weather at major airports,” the report read.
“To enhance preparedness and resilience, a senior-level daily network meeting has been introduced to align risk assessment, coordinate joint responses and increase trust in network decisions.”
Air traffic management outcomes are continuing to improve, with Airservices saying it was responsible for only 0.1 per cent of total network flight delays in November.
“Overall, air traffic service variations reached their lowest levels since commencing reporting on these metrics in 2022.”
“We are focused on maintaining this momentum and have been preparing for the summer holiday period. Additional layers of resilience are being built into rosters with standby arrangement in key locations, and operational coordination with stakeholders has been strengthened.”
The report comes as Sydney Airport is set to be bolstered by a new “recovery period” mechanism which will see flight movement caps temporarily raised following significant disruptions.
