Beijing Airport Holds World's Worst Departure Record

As huge, developing countries with burgeoning economies, China and India are often seen as rivals on the world stage. Now both countries have ranked highly on a list they would probably prefer not to be on. For the second year in a row, Beijing Capital International Airport holds the world’s worst departure record, with just 38% of commercial passenger flights leaving on time, according to Forbes.com. The worst airport in terms of arrivals was Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport, with just 45% of passenger flights arriving according to schedule.

Statistics were taken from FlightStats, described by Forbes as “a service that tracks historical and real-time flight information around the globe.” According to FlightStats, a flight is considered to be running on time if it arrives or departs less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time.

Local authorities have reassured travelers by declaring the Forbes ranking to be wrong. According to a report in the Global Times today, “A spokesperson for the Beijing airport said the list was incorrect, and Forbes never asked for the official statistics from the airport.” No doubt the "official" statistics would have revealed an officially excellent track record.