Columbia, SC

What the Data Says About CAE

Columbia, SC in Columbia, South Carolina handled 67,973 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 84.3% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 10,681 experienced delays, 781 were cancelled, and 72 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.15%, the diversion rate to 0.11%, and the average delay when departures run late is 79.1 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing CAE against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at CAE, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 40.0% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 34.5% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 17.0%. Weather contributes 8.5% 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, October runs the cleanest at CAE with a 94.8% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 90.3% — a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in October, when average flights hit 1,037. The busiest route from CAE is to CAE (Columbia), with 12,756 flights at a 87.7% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 84.3% on-time, 79.1-minute average delay, 1.15% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Columbia, SC.