Bismarck/Mandan, ND

What the Data Says About BIS

Bismarck/Mandan, ND in Bismarck/Mandan, North Dakota handled 45,937 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 83.4% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 7,617 experienced delays, 486 were cancelled, and 78 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.06%, the diversion rate to 0.17%, and the average delay when departures run late is 88.4 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing BIS against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at BIS, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 55.9% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 19.8% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 13.6%. Weather contributes 10.1% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.7%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, September runs the cleanest at BIS with a 94% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 87.9% — a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in October, when average flights hit 680. The busiest route from BIS is to BIS (Bismarck/Mandan), with 9,208 flights at a 86.1% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 83.4% on-time, 88.4-minute average delay, 1.06% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Bismarck/Mandan, ND.