Sault Ste. Marie, MI

What the Data Says About CIU

Sault Ste. Marie, MI in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan handled 8,922 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 84.6% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 1,373 experienced delays, 68 were cancelled, and 9 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 0.76%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 119.8 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing CIU against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at CIU, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 68.8% of total delay minutes, followed by Weather at 25.8% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 3.4%. Weather contributes 25.8% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.3%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, November runs the cleanest at CIU with a 94.5% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 88% — a 7-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in August, when average flights hit 133. The busiest route from CIU is to MSP (Minneapolis), with 1,988 flights at a 86.6% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 84.6% on-time, 119.8-minute average delay, 0.76% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Sault Ste. Marie, MI.