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Airport · CLD · Carlsbad, California

Carlsbad, CA

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Carlsbad, CA (CLD) ranks #364 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Carlsbad, CA posts top-5% on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

89.3%
On-time
Top 5%
on-time, US airports
63 min
Delay when late
0.16%
Cancelled
#364 of 382
Corpus placement
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CLD on-time rate vs. the national average

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

0%100%U.S. average79%89.3%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Carrier. Total delay minutes: 3,381.

Late Aircraft 31.2% (1,054 min)
Carrier 39.8% (1,345 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 14.9% (504 min)
Weather 8.0% (271 min)
Security 6.1% (207 min)

CLD - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: December (99.2%) · worst: November (93.3%)

92%94%96%98%100% FebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 99.2%

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

Average taxi-out 13.9 min · taxi-in 5.1 min over the last 11 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

10 min12 min14 min16 min18 min20 min Feb 25Dec 25 12.2 min 15 min ▲ +23.0%

CLD's average taxi-out (13.9 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (November 2025, 17.7 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Carlsbad, CA.

Cancellation Rate

0.16%

2 of 1,281 flights

Diversion Rate

0.08%

1 of 1,281 flights

Delay Rate

10.7%

137 of 1,281 flights

Top Routes from CLD

Busiest routes to and from Carlsbad, CA.

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Route Flights On-Time Distance
PHX (Phoenix) → CLD (Carlsbad) 641 86.9% 306 mi
CLD (Carlsbad) → PHX (Phoenix) 640 91.1% 306 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Carlsbad, CA, both outside California 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: 89.3%).

Helena, MT

Helena, MT

89.2% on-time 17,569 flights

Deadhorse, AK

Deadhorse, AK

89.1% on-time 5,986 flights

Dubuque, IA

Dubuque, IA

89.5% on-time 3,012 flights

Hibbing, MN

Hibbing, MN

89% on-time 7,678 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 1,281).

Fort Leonard Wood, MO

Fort Leonard Wood, MO

1,262 flights 90.5% on-time

Adak Island, AK

Adak Island, AK

1,254 flights 77% on-time

New Haven, CT

New Haven, CT

1,204 flights 92.9% on-time

Gustavus, AK

Gustavus, AK

1,064 flights 90.3% on-time

Other Airports in California

Compare performance with other California airports.

LAX 82.8%

Los Angeles, CA

Los Angeles · 2,137,032 flights
SFO 81%

San Francisco, CA

San Francisco · 1,466,784 flights
SAN 80.8%

San Diego, CA

San Diego · 973,807 flights
SMF 82.7%

Sacramento, CA

Sacramento · 592,833 flights
SJC 84.2%

San Jose, CA

San Jose · 546,547 flights
SNA 82.5%

Santa Ana, CA

Santa Ana · 482,186 flights
OAK 81.7%

Oakland, CA

Oakland · 472,036 flights
BUR 82.4%

Burbank, CA

Burbank · 319,148 flights

CLD delay-share reading

The standout signal at Carlsbad, CA is traffic scale: 1,281 BTS flights (2025–2025) place it #364 of 382 by book size. That quiet-book footprint sits beside a 89.3% on-time rate (10.3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average), 137 delayed departures, and 2 cancellations (0.16% of the book).

Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (31.2% late-aircraft, 39.8% carrier, 14.9% NAS, 8.0% weather, 6.1% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.

On the multi-year calendar, CLD is strongest in December (99.2% on-time) and weakest in November (93.3%), a 5.9-point swing. Volume peaks in October (~124 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to PHX (Phoenix) at 86.9% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for California: California flight data.

Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2025–2025). 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 CLD's data

CLD's on-time book is stronger than most peers; the remaining risk sits in the delay mix, not a weak headline rate.

  • Check the busiest route from CLD before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in December rather than November if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 13.9 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.