According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Lihue, HI (LIH) ranks #82 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Lihue, HI posts top-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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LIH on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Lihue, HI sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Lihue, HI handles more flight
volume than 79% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
82% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and reliable.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Lihue, HI vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 162,570 ·
On-time rate: 86.7%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes590,068 min
Late Aircraft304,283 min · 52%
Carrier204,509 min · 35%
NAS (National Aviation System)62,964 min · 11%
Weather15,588 min · 3%
Security2,724 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
LIH - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (95.8%) · worst: December (92.1%)
LIH - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
LIH - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 10.5 min · taxi-in 6.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
LIH's average taxi-out (10.5 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (January 2024, 12.3 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Lihue, HI, both outside Hawaii 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 Lihue, HI is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 51.6% of 590,068 delay minutes across 162,570 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 86.7% (7.7 pts above the 79% national average), with 21,670 delayed and 1,268 cancelled (0.78%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (51.6% late-aircraft, 34.7% carrier, 10.7% NAS, 2.6% weather, 0.5% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, LIH is strongest in September (95.8% on-time) and weakest in December (92.1%), a 3.7-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~2,467 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to HNL (Honolulu) at 87.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Lihue, HI vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
86.7%Top 18%higher than 82% of 382 airports
Lihue, HI
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.
LIH'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 LIH before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 10.5 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lihue, HI's on-time rate?
Lihue, HI (LIH) has a 86.7% on-time rate across 162,570 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 7.7 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the top-quartile on-time performance.
How does LIH rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Lihue, HI ranks #82 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Lihue, HI?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at LIH, accounting for 51.6% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 51.6% late-aircraft, 34.7% carrier, 10.7% NAS/air-traffic-control, 2.6% weather, and 0.5% security.
When is the best time to fly through Lihue, HI?
September is historically LIH's strongest month at 95.8% on-time, while December is the weakest at 92.1%, a 3.7-point swing across the BTS historical record.