According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Boston, MA (BOS) ranks #14 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Boston, MA posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as one of the busiest U.S. airports.
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BOS on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes: 10,126,204.
Late Aircraft34.4% (3,479,153 min)
Carrier37.1% (3,756,432 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)25.0% (2,534,427 min)
Weather3.4% (342,527 min)
Security0.1% (13,665 min)
BOS - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (92.8%) · worst: July (88%)
BOS - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
BOS - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 20.9 min · taxi-in 8.9 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
BOS's average taxi-out (20.9 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is February 2025 at 23.7 min; the lightest is March 2024 at 18.7 min.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Boston, MA, both outside Massachusetts so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Boston, MA is traffic scale: 1,455,478 BTS flights (2020–2025) place it #14 of 382 by book size. That busy-book footprint sits beside a 79.9% on-time rate (0.9 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average), 292,211 delayed departures, and 17,391 cancellations (1.19% of the book).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (34.4% late-aircraft, 37.1% carrier, 25.0% NAS, 3.4% weather, 0.1% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, BOS is strongest in November (92.8% on-time) and weakest in July (88%), a 4.8-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~21,852 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DCA (Washington) at 81.6% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Boston, MA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
79.9%Top 84%higher than 16% of 382 airports
Boston, MA
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
BOS's on-time book sits in the slower half of the BTS set; check the delay mix and the worst month before treating the headline as typical.
Check the busiest route from BOS before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. February 2025 averaged 23.7 min. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Boston, MA's on-time rate?
Boston, MA (BOS) has a 79.9% on-time rate across 1,455,478 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.9 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does BOS rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Boston, MA ranks #14 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it one of the busiest U.S. airports.
What's the most common cause of delays at Boston, MA?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at BOS, accounting for 37.1% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 34.4% late-aircraft, 37.1% carrier, 25.0% NAS/air-traffic-control, 3.4% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Boston, MA?
November is historically BOS's strongest month at 92.8% on-time, while July is the weakest at 88%, a 4.8-point swing across the BTS historical record.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights