According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Dallas, TX (DAL) ranks #30 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Dallas, TX posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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DAL on-time rate vs. the national average
Behind the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 4,617,353.
Late Aircraft49.1% (2,269,111 min)
Carrier32.6% (1,505,914 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)14.6% (675,730 min)
Weather3.4% (154,766 min)
Security0.3% (11,832 min)
DAL - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (91%) · worst: June (82.6%)
DAL - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
DAL - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 13.1 min · taxi-in 5.5 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
DAL's average taxi-out (13.1 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (September 2024, 14.7 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Dallas, TX, both outside Texas 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 Dallas, TX is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 49.1% of 4,617,353 delay minutes across 791,209 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 77.6% (1.4 pts below the 79% national average), with 177,235 delayed and 11,096 cancelled (1.40%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (49.1% late-aircraft, 32.6% carrier, 14.6% NAS, 3.4% weather, 0.3% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, DAL is strongest in February (91% on-time) and weakest in June (82.6%), a 8.4-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~11,646 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to HOU (Houston) at 80.6% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Dallas, TX vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
77.6%Top 92%higher than 8% of 382 airports
Dallas, TX
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 (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
DAL'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.
Check the busiest route from DAL before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in February rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 13.1 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 Dallas, TX's on-time rate?
Dallas, TX (DAL) has a 77.6% on-time rate across 791,209 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 1.4 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does DAL rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Dallas, TX ranks #30 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Dallas, TX?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at DAL, accounting for 49.1% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 49.1% late-aircraft, 32.6% carrier, 14.6% NAS/air-traffic-control, 3.4% weather, and 0.3% security.
When is the best time to fly through Dallas, TX?
February is historically DAL's strongest month at 91% on-time, while June is the weakest at 82.6%, a 8.4-point swing across the BTS historical record.
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