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Airport · DBQ · Dubuque, Iowa

Dubuque, IA

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Dubuque, IA (DBQ) ranks #351 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Dubuque, IA posts top-5% on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

89.5%
On-time
Top 4%
on-time, US airports
84 min
Delay when late
1.83%
Cancelled
#351 of 382
Corpus placement
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DBQ on-time rate vs. the national average

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

0%100%U.S. average79%89.5%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 11,424.

Late Aircraft 44.2% (5,045 min)
Carrier 18.6% (2,128 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 18.2% (2,077 min)
Weather 19.0% (2,174 min)
Security 0.0% (0 min)

DBQ - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: October (99.2%) · worst: January (94%)

92%94%96%98%100% JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 97.5%

DBQ - on-time rate by year

2020–2022, year-over-year trend.

95%96%97%98% 202020212022 96.2% 96% ▼ -0.2%

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

Average taxi-out 14.4 min · taxi-in 4.8 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

5 min10 min15 min20 min25 min Aug 20Sep 22 10.2 min 14 min ▲ +37.3%

DBQ's average taxi-out (14.4 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 10.2 min (August 2020) to 22.3 min (February 2021).

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Dubuque, IA.

Cancellation Rate

1.83%

55 of 3,012 flights

Diversion Rate

0.03%

1 of 3,012 flights

Delay Rate

10.5%

315 of 3,012 flights

Top Routes from DBQ

Busiest routes to and from Dubuque, IA.

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Route Flights On-Time Distance
DBQ (Dubuque) → ORD (Chicago) 1,392 91.2% 147 mi
ORD (Chicago) → DBQ (Dubuque) 1,392 85.8% 147 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Dubuque, IA, both outside Iowa 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: 89.5%).

Lewiston, ID

Lewiston, ID

89.7% on-time 10,808 flights

Cape Girardeau, MO

Cape Girardeau, MO

89.7% on-time 3,473 flights

Carlsbad, CA

Carlsbad, CA

89.3% on-time 1,281 flights

Helena, MT

Helena, MT

89.2% on-time 17,569 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 3,012).

Pierre, SD

Pierre, SD

3,006 flights 87% on-time

Watertown, SD

Watertown, SD

3,061 flights 87.6% on-time

Ogdensburg, NY

Ogdensburg, NY

3,089 flights 84.3% on-time

Dillingham, AK

Dillingham, AK

2,866 flights 82.6% on-time

Other Airports in Iowa

Compare performance with other Iowa airports.

DSM 82.6%

Des Moines, IA

Des Moines · 169,476 flights
CID 82.2%

Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, IA

Cedar Rapids/Iowa City · 91,140 flights
SUX 81.8%

Sioux City, IA

Sioux City · 9,052 flights
MCW 83.4%

Mason City, IA

Mason City · 5,851 flights
FOD 83.4%

Fort Dodge, IA

Fort Dodge · 5,848 flights
ALO 87.7%

Waterloo, IA

Waterloo · 4,350 flights

DBQ delay-share reading

The standout signal at Dubuque, IA is on-time standing: 89.5% (10.5 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; roughly the top-5% on-time performance) across 3,012 BTS flights (2020–2022). When a departure runs late, the average delay is 83.5 minutes; cancellations run 1.83%.

Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (44.2% late-aircraft, 18.6% carrier, 18.2% NAS, 19.0% weather, 0.0% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.

On the multi-year calendar, DBQ is strongest in October (99.2% on-time) and weakest in January (94%), a 5.2-point swing. Volume peaks in November (~162 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ORD (Chicago) at 91.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for Iowa: Iowa flight data.

Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2022). 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 DBQ's data

DBQ'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 DBQ before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in October rather than January if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 14.4 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.