Dubuque, IA

What the Data Says About DBQ

Dubuque, IA in Dubuque, Iowa handled 3,012 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2022, posting a 89.5% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 315 experienced delays, 55 were cancelled, and 1 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.83%, the diversion rate to 0.03%, and the average delay when departures run late is 83.5 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing DBQ against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at DBQ, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 44.2% of total delay minutes, followed by Weather at 19.0% and Carrier at 18.6%. Weather contributes 19.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.0%. 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 DBQ with a 99.2% on-time rate, while January is the roughest at 94% — a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in November, when average flights hit 162. The busiest route from DBQ is to ORD (Chicago), with 1,392 flights at a 91.2% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 89.5% on-time, 83.5-minute average delay, 1.83% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Dubuque, IA.