Airport · DFW · Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX

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. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 3,395,134 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is late aircraft.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

78.5%
On-time: Top 89%
on-time, US airports: 83 min
Delay when late: 1.41%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

3,395,134

Best Month

Feb 90.9%

Worst Month

Jun 84.5%

Delayed

729,619

Cancelled

47,734

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

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

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 27,357,726.

Late Aircraft 43.4% (11,869,690 min)

Carrier 33.9% (9,277,223 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 14.5% (3,975,200 min)

Weather 8.0% (2,194,298 min)

Security 0.2% (41,315 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: February (90.9% on-time). Most delays: June (84.5% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	46,854	10,169	292	88.6%
November	45,980	8,263	322	90.7%
October	49,581	9,189	367	90.2%
September	47,168	8,289	239	90.7%
August	50,648	11,673	655	87.5%
July	51,301	13,980	442	85.2%
June	47,723	13,510	568	84.5%
May	45,848	11,165	665	87.2%
April	44,521	9,117	1,472	89.4%
March	48,722	9,646	1,096	89.8%
February	42,191	7,597	1,117	90.9%
January	45,321	9,007	722	90.2%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at DFW.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	631,706	87,982	8,706	86.1%
2024	627,150	84,773	5,837	86.5%
2023	570,462	65,967	4,414	88.4%
2022	553,419	60,832	7,914	89%
2021	560,760	58,436	9,008	89.6%
2020	451,637	26,380	11,855	94.2%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.

Cancellation Rate

1.41%

47,734 of 3,395,134 flights

Diversion Rate

0.13%

4,516 of 3,395,134 flights

Delay Rate

21.5%

729,619 of 3,395,134 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	51,539	7,819	5,921	159	96
Nov 2025	50,066	6,444	5,572	868	51
Oct 2025	54,365	6,403	5,366	325	44
Sep 2025	51,279	5,676	4,784	480	56
Aug 2025	54,196	8,707	7,310	721	73
Jul 2025	57,920	10,096	8,290	898	165
Jun 2025	56,444	10,239	8,758	802	120
May 2025	54,363	8,264	7,306	841	94
Apr 2025	51,377	7,163	6,786	861	64
Mar 2025	54,182	6,609	5,775	836	75
Feb 2025	45,726	5,011	4,574	323	62
Jan 2025	50,249	5,551	5,135	1,592	63
Dec 2024	51,631	6,734	5,841	536	67
Nov 2024	50,382	5,145	4,531	430	55
Oct 2024	55,723	4,939	3,739	97	36
Sep 2024	52,403	5,112	4,753	76	36
Aug 2024	55,801	7,613	6,109	281	96
Jul 2024	58,164	10,679	9,082	521	99
Jun 2024	55,375	9,853	7,532	497	98
May 2024	54,215	10,113	9,286	1,723	106
Apr 2024	49,813	6,560	6,119	562	47
Mar 2024	51,131	7,271	6,216	437	75
Feb 2024	45,354	3,872	3,761	23	50
Jan 2024	47,158	6,882	7,078	654	108

Top Routes from DFW

Busiest routes to and from Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
LAX (Los Angeles) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	37,750	81.1%	1,235 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → LAX (Los Angeles)	37,739	77.2%	1,235 mi
ATL (Atlanta) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	35,376	77.7%	731 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → ATL (Atlanta)	35,361	79.2%	731 mi
ORD (Chicago) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	34,728	77.7%	802 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → ORD (Chicago)	34,708	78.7%	802 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
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → LGA (New York)	33,252	78.2%	1,389 mi
LGA (New York) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	33,246	79.4%	1,389 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → LAS (Las Vegas)	32,222	72.9%	1,055 mi
LAS (Las Vegas) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	32,210	80.3%	1,055 mi
IAH (Houston) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	30,197	76.6%	224 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → IAH (Houston)	30,188	76.3%	224 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → MCO (Orlando)	26,504	71.1%	985 mi
MCO (Orlando) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	26,463	76.1%	985 mi
PHX (Phoenix) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	26,297	82.8%	868 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → PHX (Phoenix)	26,288	74.7%	868 mi
AUS (Austin) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	25,695	78.3%	190 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → AUS (Austin)	25,691	74.2%	190 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to Dallas/Fort Worth, TX's 78.5%.

Chicago, IL

78.4% on-time 880,912 flights

Phoenix, AZ

78.7% on-time 70,097 flights

Bethel, AK

78.3% on-time 8,174 flights

Martha's Vineyard, MA

78.8% on-time 11,280 flights

Niagara Falls, NY

78.2% on-time 5,099 flights

Denver, CO

78.9% on-time 3,293,040 flights

Other Airports in Texas

Compare performance with other Texas airports.

IAH 81.6%

Houston, TX

Houston · 1,404,392 flights

AUS 79.3%

Austin, TX

Austin · 909,441 flights

DAL 77.6%

Dallas, TX

Dallas · 791,209 flights

HOU 79.4%

Houston, TX

Houston · 618,821 flights

SAT 81.7%

San Antonio, TX

San Antonio · 419,736 flights

ELP 81.4%

El Paso, TX

El Paso · 186,225 flights

MAF 82.9%

Midland/Odessa, TX

Midland/Odessa · 100,719 flights

LBB 82%

Lubbock, TX

Lubbock · 69,433 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.

Texas flight data

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

View TX data →

Airport rankings

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

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

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

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About DFW

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas handled 3,395,134 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 78.5% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 729,619 experienced delays, 47,734 were cancelled, and 4,516 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.41%, the diversion rate to 0.13%, and the average delay when departures run late is 82.9 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing DFW against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at DFW, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 43.4% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 33.9% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 14.5%. Weather contributes 8.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.2%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, February runs the cleanest at DFW with a 90.9% on-time rate, while June is the roughest at 84.5% - a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 51,301. The busiest route connecting DFW is to LAX (Los Angeles), with 37,750 flights at a 81.1% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 78.5% on-time, 82.9-minute average delay, 1.41% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Dallas/Fort Worth, TX.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at Dallas/Fort Worth, TX (DFW)? ▼

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX has an overall on-time departure rate of 78.5%. Out of 3,395,134 total flights tracked, 729,619 experienced delays and 47,734 were cancelled.

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

The top delay cause at Dallas/Fort Worth, TX is Late Aircraft. Late Aircraft accounts for 43.4% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at DFW? ▼

The average delay at Dallas/Fort Worth, TX is 82.9 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 DFW? ▼

Based on historical data, February has the best on-time performance at DFW with 90.9% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at DFW? ▼

June tends to have the most delays at DFW, with an on-time rate of only 84.5%.

How many routes operate from DFW? ▼

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX serves at least 20 routes. The busiest route is LAX to DFW (Los Angeles - Dallas/Fort Worth) with 37,750 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at DFW? ▼

Dallas/Fort Worth, TX has a cancellation rate of 1.41%, based on 47,734 cancelled flights out of 3,395,134 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

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Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

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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 DFW's data

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

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
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.