Lincoln, NE

What the Data Says About LNK

Lincoln, NE in Lincoln, Nebraska handled 16,123 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 80.3% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 3,170 experienced delays, 213 were cancelled, and 29 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.32%, the diversion rate to 0.18%, and the average delay when departures run late is 95.9 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing LNK against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at LNK, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 48.5% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 23.2% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 19.2%. Weather contributes 9.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.1%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, October runs the cleanest at LNK with a 94% on-time rate, while January is the roughest at 88% — a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 323. The busiest route from LNK is to ORD (Chicago), with 3,891 flights at a 81.2% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 80.3% on-time, 95.9-minute average delay, 1.32% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Lincoln, NE.