According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Cold Bay, AK (CDB) ranks #374 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Cold Bay, AK posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.
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CDB on-time rate vs. the national average
Behind the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Cold Bay, AK sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Cold Bay, AK handles more flight
volume than 2% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
0% of them, placing it in the quadrant for quiet and delay-prone.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Cold Bay, AK vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 524 ·
On-time rate: 62.6%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes5,805 min
Late Aircraft2,248 min · 39%
Security1,637 min · 28%
NAS (National Aviation System)1,080 min · 19%
Carrier558 min · 10%
Weather282 min · 5%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
CDB - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: April (93.8%) · worst: October (61.1%)
CDB - on-time rate by year
2020–2021, year-over-year trend.
CDB - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 9.2 min · taxi-in 3.3 min over the last 16 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
CDB's average taxi-out (9.2 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (January 2021, 14.4 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Cold Bay, AK.
Cancellation Rate
4.20%
22 of 524 flights
Diversion Rate
0.00%
0 of 524 flights
Delay Rate
37.4%
196 of 524 flights
Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Cold Bay, AK, both outside Alaska 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 Cold Bay, AK is on-time standing: 62.6% (16.4 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance) across 524 BTS flights (2020–2021). When a departure runs late, the average delay is 45.5 minutes; cancellations run 4.20%.
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (38.7% late-aircraft, 9.6% carrier, 18.6% NAS, 4.9% weather, 28.2% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.
On the multi-year calendar, CDB is strongest in April (93.8% on-time) and weakest in October (61.1%), a 32.7-point swing. Volume peaks in December (~36 flights/month). Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Cold Bay, AK vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
62.6%Top 100%in the bottom 1% of 382 airports
Cold Bay, AK
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 (2020–2021).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
CDB'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.
Compare CDB against airports with a similar on-time rate. Compare airports →
Travel in April rather than October if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 9.2 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Cold Bay, AK's on-time rate?
Cold Bay, AK (CDB) has a 62.6% on-time rate across 524 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2021), 16.4 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does CDB rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Cold Bay, AK ranks #374 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a smaller regional airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Cold Bay, AK?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at CDB, accounting for 38.7% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 38.7% late-aircraft, 9.6% carrier, 18.6% NAS/air-traffic-control, 4.9% weather, and 28.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through Cold Bay, AK?
April is historically CDB's strongest month at 93.8% on-time, while October is the weakest at 61.1%, a 32.7-point swing across the BTS historical record.