Houston, TX

What the Data Says About HOU

Houston, TX in Houston, Texas handled 618,821 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 79.4% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 127,699 experienced delays, 7,742 were cancelled, and 539 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.25%, the diversion rate to 0.09%, and the average delay when departures run late is 58.6 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing HOU against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at HOU, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 44.4% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 34.9% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 15.9%. Weather contributes 4.5% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.4%. 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 HOU with a 91.3% on-time rate, while June is the roughest at 84% — a 7-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 9,200. The busiest route from HOU is to HOU (Houston), with 23,563 flights at a 80.6% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 79.4% on-time, 58.6-minute average delay, 1.25% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Houston, TX.