Columbus, OH

What the Data Says About CMH

Columbus, OH in Columbus, Ohio handled 450,603 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 82.8% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 77,312 experienced delays, 5,085 were cancelled, and 443 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.13%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 72.0 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing CMH against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at CMH, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 35.0% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 33.9% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 26.3%. Weather contributes 4.7% 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 CMH with a 94% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 89.7% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 6,732. The busiest route from CMH is to CMH (Columbus), with 18,701 flights at a 79.7% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 82.8% on-time, 72.0-minute average delay, 1.13% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Columbus, OH.