Airport · DEN · Denver, Colorado

Denver, CO

Denver, CO posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as one of the busiest U.S. airports. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 3,293,040 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is late aircraft.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

78.9%
On-time: Top 88%
on-time, US airports: 71 min
Delay when late: 1.02%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

3,293,040

Best Month

Nov 91.4%

Worst Month

Jul 84.3%

Delayed

696,109

Cancelled

33,645

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

What this shows DEN is marked in the 75-80% band.

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 23,037,160.

Late Aircraft 40.9% (9,412,127 min)

Carrier 38.6% (8,892,627 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 15.3% (3,514,456 min)

Weather 5.2% (1,191,141 min)

Security 0.1% (26,809 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: November (91.4% on-time). Most delays: July (84.3% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	46,749	10,385	524	87.6%
November	45,585	6,987	182	91.4%
October	48,668	8,187	176	90.6%
September	47,047	7,945	112	90.5%
August	50,020	11,934	293	86.9%
July	49,614	14,112	443	84.3%
June	45,948	12,859	338	84.7%
May	43,208	10,225	230	87.2%
April	42,318	7,977	1,089	89.9%
March	46,596	8,462	1,167	89.7%
February	40,004	8,367	369	88.4%
January	43,084	8,578	685	88.8%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at DEN.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	635,361	80,678	2,444	87.3%
2024	617,254	70,794	3,485	88.5%
2023	577,957	77,154	4,026	86.7%
2022	542,926	76,591	7,009	85.9%
2021	522,508	61,592	5,623	88.2%
2020	397,034	18,422	11,058	95.4%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Denver, CO.

Cancellation Rate

1.02%

33,645 of 3,293,040 flights

Diversion Rate

0.13%

4,262 of 3,293,040 flights

Delay Rate

21.1%

696,109 of 3,293,040 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	52,033	7,161	6,353	166	85
Nov 2025	50,575	4,214	3,635	365	40
Oct 2025	55,527	5,409	5,098	37	57
Sep 2025	53,094	5,192	4,999	33	48
Aug 2025	56,167	8,293	7,679	206	97
Jul 2025	58,866	10,376	9,202	437	169
Jun 2025	56,343	9,847	8,930	201	134
May 2025	53,792	8,169	7,856	200	70
Apr 2025	50,561	6,085	6,383	153	67
Mar 2025	53,307	5,025	4,175	158	78
Feb 2025	45,624	5,188	4,663	175	47
Jan 2025	49,472	5,719	4,962	313	69
Dec 2024	51,789	4,717	3,842	86	91
Nov 2024	50,453	4,600	4,000	351	55
Oct 2024	53,859	3,832	2,944	108	43
Sep 2024	52,290	4,319	3,318	52	38
Aug 2024	54,664	7,160	5,751	197	96
Jul 2024	56,801	8,118	6,434	453	122
Jun 2024	55,161	8,173	6,796	211	91
May 2024	52,732	7,638	6,665	212	79
Apr 2024	49,320	5,493	4,505	99	56
Mar 2024	49,945	5,431	4,084	520	49
Feb 2024	43,522	5,015	3,831	205	56
Jan 2024	46,718	6,298	4,535	991	61

Top Routes from DEN

Busiest routes to and from Denver, CO.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
PHX (Phoenix) → DEN (Denver)	49,558	80.7%	602 mi
DEN (Denver) → PHX (Phoenix)	49,508	77.8%	602 mi
LAS (Las Vegas) → DEN (Denver)	44,661	77.7%	628 mi
DEN (Denver) → LAS (Las Vegas)	44,636	76.1%	628 mi
DEN (Denver) → SLC (Salt Lake City)	43,089	78.3%	391 mi
SLC (Salt Lake City) → DEN (Denver)	43,051	78.8%	391 mi
DEN (Denver) → LAX (Los Angeles)	42,179	80.3%	862 mi
LAX (Los Angeles) → DEN (Denver)	42,014	84.3%	862 mi
DEN (Denver) → SEA (Seattle)	37,116	77.8%	1,024 mi
SEA (Seattle) → DEN (Denver)	37,112	81.1%	1,024 mi
ORD (Chicago) → DEN (Denver)	35,971	79.3%	888 mi
DEN (Denver) → ORD (Chicago)	35,925	76.8%	888 mi
DEN (Denver) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	33,523	77.5%	641 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → DEN (Denver)	33,503	75.4%	641 mi
ATL (Atlanta) → DEN (Denver)	33,476	79.6%	1,199 mi
DEN (Denver) → ATL (Atlanta)	33,372	79.3%	1,199 mi
DEN (Denver) → MSP (Minneapolis)	32,213	79.9%	680 mi
MSP (Minneapolis) → DEN (Denver)	32,212	82.4%	680 mi
SAN (San Diego) → DEN (Denver)	28,968	82.1%	853 mi
DEN (Denver) → SAN (San Diego)	28,912	78%	853 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to Denver, CO's 78.9%.

Rockford, IL

78.9% on-time 9,512 flights

Cody, WY

78.9% on-time 7,056 flights

Key West, FL

79% on-time 93,161 flights

Martha's Vineyard, MA

78.8% on-time 11,280 flights

White Plains, NY

79.1% on-time 117,692 flights

Clarksburg/Fairmont, WV

79.1% on-time 6,552 flights

Other Airports in Colorado

Compare performance with other Colorado airports.

COS 80.4%

Colorado Springs, CO

Colorado Springs · 134,711 flights

ASE 73.5%

Aspen, CO

Aspen · 78,805 flights

GJT 85.1%

Grand Junction, CO

Grand Junction · 47,063 flights

DRO 83.4%

Durango, CO

Durango · 42,722 flights

EGE 78%

Eagle, CO

Eagle · 37,271 flights

MTJ 81.3%

Montrose/Delta, CO

Montrose/Delta · 32,233 flights

HDN 79.7%

Hayden, CO

Hayden · 27,069 flights

GUC 82.9%

Gunnison, CO

Gunnison · 9,819 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around Denver, CO.

Colorado flight data

Statewide on-time and delay aggregates, plus every reporting airport in Colorado.

View CO data →

Airport rankings

See where DEN sits among U.S. airports on on-time rate and average delay.

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

Put DEN head-to-head with another airport on delays and reliability.

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About DEN

Denver, CO in Denver, Colorado handled 3,293,040 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 78.9% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 696,109 experienced delays, 33,645 were cancelled, and 4,262 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.02%, the diversion rate to 0.13%, and the average delay when departures run late is 70.9 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing DEN against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at DEN, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 40.9% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 38.6% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 15.3%. Weather contributes 5.2% 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, November runs the cleanest at DEN with a 91.4% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 84.3% - a 7-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in August, when average flights hit 50,020. The busiest route connecting DEN is to PHX (Phoenix), with 49,558 flights at a 80.7% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 78.9% on-time, 70.9-minute average delay, 1.02% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Denver, CO.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at Denver, CO (DEN)? ▼

Denver, CO has an overall on-time departure rate of 78.9%. Out of 3,293,040 total flights tracked, 696,109 experienced delays and 33,645 were cancelled.

What is the most common cause of delays at DEN? ▼

The top delay cause at Denver, CO is Late Aircraft. Late Aircraft accounts for 40.9% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at DEN? ▼

The average delay at Denver, CO is 70.9 minutes. This includes delays from carrier issues, weather, National Aviation System constraints, security, and late-arriving aircraft.

What is the best month to fly from DEN? ▼

Based on historical data, November has the best on-time performance at DEN with 91.4% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at DEN? ▼

July tends to have the most delays at DEN, with an on-time rate of only 84.3%.

How many routes operate from DEN? ▼

Denver, CO serves at least 20 routes. The busiest route is PHX to DEN (Phoenix - Denver) with 49,558 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at DEN? ▼

Denver, CO has a cancellation rate of 1.02%, based on 33,645 cancelled flights out of 3,293,040 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

Data-driven guides to help you understand airport and flight performance.

Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

Which carriers consistently outperform peers

Why Flights Get Cancelled

Cancellation causes broken down by data

How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes

Use delay data to pick flights that arrive on time

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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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using DEN's data

An airport-level on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific flight.

Check the busiest route from DEN before you book a connection. See top routes
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
Scores vary by airline and route within the same airport; check the specific carrier you're flying. Browse airlines

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

All airports → | Rankings →

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 Editorial

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025 Accessed 2026-07-23

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.