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Airport · HLN · Helena, Montana

Helena, MT

According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Helena, MT (HLN) ranks #217 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Helena, MT posts top-5% on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.

Data updated 2026-06-13

89.2%
On-time
Top 5%
on-time, US airports
99 min
Delay when late
0.66%
Cancelled
#217 of 382
Corpus placement
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HLN on-time rate vs. the national average

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

0%100%U.S. average79%89.2%

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Carrier. Total delay minutes: 110,246.

Late Aircraft 18.2% (20,049 min)
Carrier 51.3% (56,605 min)
NAS (National Aviation System) 15.3% (16,824 min)
Weather 15.2% (16,764 min)
Security 0.0% (4 min)

HLN - seasonal on-time pattern

Best: March (96.6%) · worst: January (92.7%)

92%93%94%95%96%97% JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec 94.5%

HLN - on-time rate by year

2020–2025, year-over-year trend.

90%92%94%96%98%100% 202020212022202320242025 97.5% 91.9% ▼ -5.7%

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

Average taxi-out 20.3 min · taxi-in 3.2 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).

15 min20 min25 min30 min Jan 24Dec 25 25.1 min 24 min ▼ -4.4%

HLN's average taxi-out (20.3 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is February 2025 at 25.4 min; the lightest is April 2024 at 16.8 min.

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Helena, MT.

Cancellation Rate

0.66%

116 of 17,569 flights

Diversion Rate

0.15%

27 of 17,569 flights

Delay Rate

10.8%

1,889 of 17,569 flights

Top Routes from HLN

Busiest routes to and from Helena, MT.

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Route Flights On-Time Distance
HLN (Helena) → SLC (Salt Lake City) 4,471 93.5% 402 mi
SLC (Salt Lake City) → HLN (Helena) 4,470 94.2% 402 mi
DEN (Denver) → HLN (Helena) 3,036 81.5% 594 mi
HLN (Helena) → DEN (Denver) 3,034 81.2% 594 mi
HLN (Helena) → SEA (Seattle) 677 84.8% 491 mi
SEA (Seattle) → HLN (Helena) 677 86.7% 491 mi

Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume

Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Helena, MT, both outside Montana 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: 89.2%).

Carlsbad, CA

Carlsbad, CA

89.3% on-time 1,281 flights

Deadhorse, AK

Deadhorse, AK

89.1% on-time 5,986 flights

Hibbing, MN

Hibbing, MN

89% on-time 7,678 flights

Alamosa, CO

Alamosa, CO

89% on-time 1,982 flights

Similar flight volume

Nearest out-of-state total flights (this airport: 17,569).

Kalamazoo, MI

Kalamazoo, MI

17,506 flights 87.1% on-time

Champaign/Urbana, IL

Champaign/Urbana, IL

17,865 flights 84.8% on-time

Nantucket, MA

Nantucket, MA

17,080 flights 80.5% on-time

Redding, CA

Redding, CA

16,709 flights 85.8% on-time

Other Airports in Montana

Compare performance with other Montana airports.

BZN 82.3%

Bozeman, MT

Bozeman · 117,386 flights
MSO 83.9%

Missoula, MT

Missoula · 52,758 flights
BIL 85.7%

Billings, MT

Billings · 51,010 flights
FCA 84.4%

Kalispell, MT

Kalispell · 50,123 flights
GTF 88.3%

Great Falls, MT

Great Falls · 29,395 flights
BTM 91%

Butte, MT

Butte · 8,024 flights
WYS 87.9%

West Yellowstone, MT

West Yellowstone · 3,872 flights

HLN delay-share reading

The standout signal at Helena, MT is the delay mix: Carrier owns 51.3% of 110,246 delay minutes across 17,569 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 89.2% (10.2 pts above the 79% national average), with 1,889 delayed and 116 cancelled (0.66%).

Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (18.2% late-aircraft, 51.3% carrier, 15.3% NAS, 15.2% weather, 0.0% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.

On the multi-year calendar, HLN is strongest in March (96.6% on-time) and weakest in January (92.7%), a 3.9-point swing. Volume peaks in August (~270 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to SLC (Salt Lake City) at 93.5% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.

Statewide aggregates for Montana: Montana 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 HLN's data

HLN's on-time book is stronger than most peers; the remaining risk sits in the delay mix, not a weak headline rate.

  • Check the busiest route from HLN before you book a connection. See top routes
  • Travel in March rather than January if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
  • Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. February 2025 averaged 25.4 min. 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.