Way to fly: Sea-Tac nabs top spot for on-time departures

Air-traffic controllers work in the main control room overlooking Sea-Tac Airport. (Steve Ringman photo, Seattle Times, 2012)

Sea-Tac Airport is doing something really right. It’s taken the top spot for on-time departures among the world’s busiest airports for the month of February with 91.18 percent of flights departing on time, according to FlightStats.

How good was Sea-Tac’s grade? Very good. The average on-time departure performance among the top 35 international airports in February was 73.29 percent, down slightly from January’s rate of 74.73 percent, said Flight Stats, a global airline tracking website.

By the numbers (and, yes, 8 of these top 10 airports are in the U.S.):

1. Seattle (SEA ) 91.18 percent

2. Tokyo (HND) 90.83 percent

3. Phoenix (PHX) 87.66 percent

4. Los Angeles (LAX) 85.27 percent

5. San Francisco (SFO) 84.28 percent

6. Atlanta (ATL) 84.19 percent

7. Charlotte (CLT) 83.99 percent

8. Las Vegas (LAS) 83.19 percent

9. Amsterdam (AMS) 83.09 percent

10. Minneapolis (MSP) 82.70 percent

See FlightStats’ full February on time performance report, for U.S. and international airlines and airports.

Comments | More in airlines, Sea-Tac Airport | Topics: Airlines, on-time flights, Sea-Tac Airport

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Kristin Jackson, travel editor at The Seattle Times, grew up in Italy, went to university in Britain, and worked as a journalist in London and Vancouver, B.C., before migrating back to Seattle where she’s happy at her desk but way happier on the road.

Brian J. Cantwell, Outdoors editor at The Seattle Times, is a Seattle native who chose not to leave -- except for every chance he gets to go someplace interesting or adventurous. He lives on his sailboat at Shilshole Bay Marina.