Buffalo, NY

What the Data Says About BUF

Buffalo, NY in Buffalo, New York handled 221,909 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 80.6% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 42,968 experienced delays, 3,878 were cancelled, and 211 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.75%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 75.7 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing BUF against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at BUF, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 42.0% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 30.5% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 22.9%. Weather contributes 4.5% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.1%. 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 BUF with a 93.3% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 88.4% — a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in October, when average flights hit 3,316. The busiest route from BUF is to BUF (Buffalo), with 13,155 flights at a 78.5% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 80.6% on-time, 75.7-minute average delay, 1.75% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Buffalo, NY.