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Airport · CAE · Columbia, South Carolina

Columbia, SC

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Columbia, SC (CAE) ranks #128 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Columbia, SC posts above-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

84.3%
On-time
Top 41%
on-time, US airports
79 min
Delay when late
1.15%
Cancelled
#128 of 382
Corpus placement
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CAE on-time rate vs. the national average

Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.

0%100%U.S. average79%84.3%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 398,003.

Late Aircraft 40.0% (159,060 min)
Carrier 34.5% (137,358 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 17.0% (67,533 min)
Weather 8.5% (33,760 min)
Security 0.1% (292 min)

CAE - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: October (94.8%) · worst: July (90.3%)

90%91%92%93%94%95%96% JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 92.6%

CAE - on-time rate by year

2020–2025, year-over-year trend.

88%90%92%94%96%98% 202020212022202320242025 95.8% 90% ▼ -6.1%

CAE - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)

Average taxi-out 16.8 min · taxi-in 5.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

12 min14 min16 min18 min20 min22 min Jan 24Dec 25 17.1 min 17.3 min ▲ +1.2%

CAE's average taxi-out (16.8 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 14.4 min (August 2025) to 19.8 min (January 2025).

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Columbia, SC.

Cancellation Rate

1.15%

781 of 67,973 flights

Diversion Rate

0.11%

72 of 67,973 flights

Delay Rate

15.7%

10,681 of 67,973 flights

Top Routes from CAE

Busiest routes to and from Columbia, SC.

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Route Flights On-Time Distance
ATL (Atlanta) → CAE (Columbia) 12,756 87.7% 192 mi
CAE (Columbia) → ATL (Atlanta) 12,756 91.3% 192 mi
CLT (Charlotte) → CAE (Columbia) 6,631 82.9% 88 mi
CAE (Columbia) → CLT (Charlotte) 6,625 85.1% 88 mi
CAE (Columbia) → DCA (Washington) 4,909 77.8% 408 mi
DCA (Washington) → CAE (Columbia) 4,903 76.4% 408 mi
CAE (Columbia) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) 4,675 78.2% 922 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → CAE (Columbia) 4,675 74.7% 922 mi
CAE (Columbia) → LGA (New York) 2,056 83.7% 617 mi
LGA (New York) → CAE (Columbia) 2,056 80.7% 617 mi
ORD (Chicago) → CAE (Columbia) 1,448 78.3% 666 mi
CAE (Columbia) → ORD (Chicago) 1,446 82.3% 666 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Columbia, SC, both outside South Carolina so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.

Similar on-time rate

Nearest out-of-state BTS on-time rate (this airport: 84.3%).

Ketchikan, AK

Ketchikan, AK

84.3% on-time 27,238 flights

Everett, WA

Everett, WA

84.3% on-time 19,411 flights

Roswell, NM

Roswell, NM

84.3% on-time 11,879 flights

Ogdensburg, NY

Ogdensburg, NY

84.3% on-time 3,089 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 67,973).

Medford, OR

Medford, OR

67,186 flights 86.8% on-time

Lubbock, TX

Lubbock, TX

69,433 flights 82% on-time

Manchester, NH

Manchester, NH

69,564 flights 82.3% on-time

Chattanooga, TN

Chattanooga, TN

66,136 flights 83.6% on-time

Other Airports in South Carolina

Compare performance with other South Carolina airports.

CHS 81.4%

Charleston, SC

Charleston · 276,798 flights
MYR 82.1%

Myrtle Beach, SC

Myrtle Beach · 171,781 flights
GSP 83.5%

Greer, SC

Greer · 155,526 flights
HHH 83.5%

Hilton Head, SC

Hilton Head · 27,234 flights
FLO 92.5%

Florence, SC

Florence · 226 flights

CAE delay-share reading

The standout signal at Columbia, SC is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 40.0% of 398,003 delay minutes across 67,973 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 84.3% (5.3 pts above the 79% national average), with 10,681 delayed and 781 cancelled (1.15%).

Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (40.0% late-aircraft, 34.5% carrier, 17.0% NAS, 8.5% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.

On the multi-year calendar, CAE is strongest in October (94.8% on-time) and weakest in July (90.3%), a 4.5-point swing. Volume peaks in October (~1,037 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 87.7% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for South Carolina: South Carolina flight data.

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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using CAE's data

CAE's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.

  • Check the busiest route from CAE before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in October rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 16.8 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

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

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. Airport figures are computed directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.