Less than two thirds of flights to Newcastle Airport from two major destinations arrived on-time in November, according to new data on Australian airlines.
The Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics monitors and records flight data each month.
Newcastle data included routes to and from Brisbane and Melbourne.
The bureau found 62 per cent of arrivals into Newcastle from the two airports were on-time, while 63.5 of departures left at the scheduled time. There were 395 arrivals throughout the month and 394 departures.
Virgin Australia was the worst performer of three recorded airlines for arrivals on-time at 55.6 per cent, while Jetstar had the lowest percentage for on-time departures with 57.1 per cent.
Qantaslink was well above average for on-time departures from Newcastle at 72.2 per cent, while 64.5 per cent of its arrivals to Brisbane and Melbourne landed at the scheduled time.
Jetstar (65.5 per cent) had the highest percentage for on-time arrivals, while 58.9 per cent of Virgin's departures were on time.
There were 10 cancelled flights from Brisbane to Newcastle during November, and 12 in the opposite direction. Virgin was responsible for nine and 11 of these respectively, with Jetstar contributing one cancelled flight each.
The bureau report details the lowest average on time statistics by airlines across Australia in more than a year.
Across all airlines, the November average on-time arrivals figure of 64.1 per cent was significantly lower than the long-term average performance of 81.1 per cent across all routes.
Bonza and Rex led the way with an on time performances of 73.9 per cent and 70.5 per cent across recorded locations respectively.
Virgin Australia was the worst performer for the month, with 54.3 per cent of recorded flights arriving on time.
Qantas was in the middle at 66.3 per cent of Qantas flights arrived on schedule.
Given these very disappointing results, it is no wonder that so many Australians remain fed up with our major airlines.
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government Catherine King said the federal government planned to deliver an aviation white paper in mid-2024 "to set the scene for the next generation of growth and development across the aviation sector".
"This will include consideration of how we can better protect the interests of consumers, whether that be a stronger ombudsman model or other measures implemented in overseas jurisdictions," Ms King said.
"Like all Australians, the government wants an aviation sector that supports our nation's way of life and this means services need to be reliable, competitive and affordable.
"As Australians gear up to travel for Christmas and the holidays, the government will be keeping a close eye on the performance of all our major airlines."
