According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) ranks #2 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Dallas/Fort Worth, TX posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as one of the busiest U.S. airports.
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DFW 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: 27,357,726.
Late Aircraft43.4% (11,869,690 min)
Carrier33.9% (9,277,223 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)14.5% (3,975,200 min)
Weather8.0% (2,194,298 min)
Security0.2% (41,315 min)
DFW - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (90.9%) · worst: June (84.5%)
DFW - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
DFW - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 19.7 min · taxi-in 13.6 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
DFW's average taxi-out (19.7 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is May 2024 at 21.7 min; the lightest is December 2025 at 18.3 min.
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Dallas/Fort Worth, 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/Fort Worth, TX is traffic scale: 3,395,134 BTS flights (2020–2025) place it #2 of 382 by book size. That busy-book footprint sits beside a 78.5% on-time rate (0.5 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average), 729,619 delayed departures, and 47,734 cancellations (1.41% of the book).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (43.4% late-aircraft, 33.9% carrier, 14.5% NAS, 8.0% weather, 0.2% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, DFW is strongest in February (90.9% on-time) and weakest in June (84.5%), a 6.4-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~51,301 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to LAX (Los Angeles) at 81.1% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
78.5%Top 89%higher than 11% of 382 airports
Dallas/Fort Worth, 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.
DFW'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 DFW before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in February rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. May 2024 averaged 21.7 min. 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/Fort Worth, TX's on-time rate?
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW) has a 78.5% on-time rate across 3,395,134 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.5 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does DFW rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Dallas/Fort Worth, TX ranks #2 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it one of the busiest U.S. airports.
What's the most common cause of delays at Dallas/Fort Worth, TX?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at DFW, accounting for 43.4% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 43.4% late-aircraft, 33.9% carrier, 14.5% NAS/air-traffic-control, 8.0% weather, and 0.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through Dallas/Fort Worth, TX?
February is historically DFW's strongest month at 90.9% on-time, while June is the weakest at 84.5%, a 6.4-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