Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport garnered international attention this week for its punctuality.

Cirium, an aviation analytics company, presented MSP with its 2023 On-Time Performance award Tuesday, marking the second stateside win in the award’s history, according to a news release from the Metropolitan Airports Commission.

Delta Air Lines at MSP was honored with the Platinum Award as the top global performer for the third consecutive year, per the release. Delta is also the most on-time airline in North America.

“Last winter challenged our region with heavy and frequent snowstorms, yet our teams showed their dedication keeping equipment, facilities and the MSP airfield in prime condition to achieve the best possible operational capabilities that contributed to achieving this rare industry honor,” said Brian Ryks, CEO of MAC, in the release.

The airport logged an on-time departure rate of 84.44 percent calculated across 289,817 flights in 2023, according to the release. Other top-finishers include India’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport and Kempegowda International Airport, El Dorado International Airport in Colombia and Salt Lake City International Airport.

The only other U.S. recipient of the global award was the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport in 2011.

“These awards affirm the trust and expectations that MSP has earned over many years in helping millions of people travel easily and efficiently across the globe to strengthen regional business connections and support personal and leisure travel,” said Rick King, chairman of MAC, in the release.

The award comes on the heels of one of MSP’s busiest years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic with nearly 35 million passengers traveling in 2023, up 11 percent from 2022.

One of the largest contributing factors in 2023 came from international travel, which accounted for 2.98 million passengers, a 47 percent increase compared to 2022.

The airport also announced this month that two additional gates are coming to Terminal 2 to increase the airport’s ability to support additional flights. The $240 million project is expected to begin midyear and be completed in 2026.

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