PlainFlights

Airport · FAI · Fairbanks, Alaska

Fairbanks, AK

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Fairbanks, AK (FAI) ranks #158 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Fairbanks, AK posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

83.1%
On-time
Top 54%
on-time, US airports
59 min
Delay when late
0.80%
Cancelled
#158 of 382
Corpus placement
View watchlist

Get FAI on-time updates (RSS)

Tools for FAI

Compare FAI to another hub, filter routes, or browse airline stats without leaving this profile.

Airport lookup

Compare airports

Route finder

Airline & season filters

FAI on-time rate vs. the national average

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

0%100%U.S. average79%83.1%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 201,650.

Late Aircraft 43.8% (88,394 min)
Carrier 36.6% (73,839 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 17.2% (34,662 min)
Weather 2.3% (4,542 min)
Security 0.1% (213 min)

FAI - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: April (95.1%) · worst: December (85%)

80%85%90%95%100% JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 85%

FAI - on-time rate by year

2020–2025, year-over-year trend.

90%92%94%96%98% 202020212022202320242025 96% 92.6% ▼ -3.5%

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

Average taxi-out 16.3 min · taxi-in 4.1 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

10 min15 min20 min25 min Jan 24Dec 25 19.7 min 22.1 min ▲ +12.2%

FAI's average taxi-out (16.3 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 12.7 min (May 2025) to 23.0 min (November 2024).

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Fairbanks, AK.

Cancellation Rate

0.80%

352 of 44,233 flights

Diversion Rate

0.04%

16 of 44,233 flights

Delay Rate

16.9%

7,479 of 44,233 flights

Top Routes from FAI

Busiest routes to and from Fairbanks, AK.

Filter routes

Route Flights On-Time Distance
SEA (Seattle) → FAI (Fairbanks) 11,703 76.4% 1,533 mi
FAI (Fairbanks) → SEA (Seattle) 11,702 82.2% 1,533 mi
FAI (Fairbanks) → ANC (Anchorage) 8,502 87.4% 261 mi
ANC (Anchorage) → FAI (Fairbanks) 8,478 87.3% 261 mi
FAI (Fairbanks) → ORD (Chicago) 510 84.3% 2,785 mi
ORD (Chicago) → FAI (Fairbanks) 510 76.3% 2,785 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Fairbanks, AK, both outside Alaska 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: 83.1%).

Seattle, WA

Seattle, WA

83.1% on-time 1,871,155 flights

Madison, WI

Madison, WI

83.1% on-time 127,239 flights

Rapid City, SD

Rapid City, SD

83.1% on-time 58,593 flights

Shreveport, LA

Shreveport, LA

83.1% on-time 55,112 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 44,233).

Harlingen/San Benito, TX

Harlingen/San Benito, TX

44,120 flights 83.8% on-time

Peoria, IL

Peoria, IL

44,104 flights 80.7% on-time

Idaho Falls, ID

Idaho Falls, ID

43,233 flights 84.4% on-time

Corpus Christi, TX

Corpus Christi, TX

45,325 flights 85% on-time

Other Airports in Alaska

Compare performance with other Alaska airports.

ANC 82.6%

Anchorage, AK

Anchorage · 214,443 flights
JNU 85.3%

Juneau, AK

Juneau · 52,533 flights
KTN 84.3%

Ketchikan, AK

Ketchikan · 27,238 flights
SIT 82.7%

Sitka, AK

Sitka · 14,900 flights
ADQ 87%

Kodiak, AK

Kodiak · 9,654 flights
PSG 85.4%

Petersburg, AK

Petersburg · 8,696 flights
WRG 84.9%

Wrangell, AK

Wrangell · 8,696 flights
YAK 85.4%

Yakutat, AK

Yakutat · 8,692 flights

FAI delay-share reading

The standout signal at Fairbanks, AK is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 43.8% of 201,650 delay minutes across 44,233 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.1% (4.1 pts above the 79% national average), with 7,479 delayed and 352 cancelled (0.80%).

Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (43.8% late-aircraft, 36.6% carrier, 17.2% NAS, 2.3% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.

On the multi-year calendar, FAI is strongest in April (95.1% on-time) and weakest in December (85%), a 10.1-point swing. Volume peaks in August (~827 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to SEA (Seattle) at 76.4% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for Alaska: Alaska flight data.

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 FAI's data

FAI's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.

  • Check the busiest route from FAI before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in April rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 16.3 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.