According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Lincoln, NE (LNK) ranks #222 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Lincoln, NE posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
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LNK on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes: 145,377.
Late Aircraft23.2% (33,736 min)
Carrier48.5% (70,529 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)19.2% (27,877 min)
Weather9.0% (13,123 min)
Security0.1% (112 min)
LNK - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: October (94%) · worst: January (88%)
LNK - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
LNK - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 21.1 min · taxi-in 5.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
LNK's average taxi-out (21.1 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is February 2025 at 27.3 min; the lightest is April 2024 at 16.3 min.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Lincoln, NE, both outside Nebraska 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 Lincoln, NE is the delay mix: Carrier owns 48.5% of 145,377 delay minutes across 16,123 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 80.3% (1.3 pts above the 79% national average), with 3,170 delayed and 213 cancelled (1.32%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (23.2% late-aircraft, 48.5% carrier, 19.2% NAS, 9.0% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, LNK is strongest in October (94% on-time) and weakest in January (88%), a 6.0-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~323 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ORD (Chicago) at 81.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Lincoln, NE vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
80.3%Top 83%higher than 17% of 382 airports
Lincoln, NE
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.
LNK's on-time book sits in the slower half of the BTS set; check the delay mix and the worst month before treating the headline as typical.
Check the busiest route from LNK before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in October rather than January if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. February 2025 averaged 27.3 min. 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 Lincoln, NE's on-time rate?
Lincoln, NE (LNK) has a 80.3% on-time rate across 16,123 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 1.3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does LNK rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Lincoln, NE ranks #222 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a mid-size U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Lincoln, NE?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at LNK, accounting for 48.5% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 23.2% late-aircraft, 48.5% carrier, 19.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 9.0% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Lincoln, NE?
October is historically LNK's strongest month at 94% on-time, while January is the weakest at 88%, a 6.0-point swing across the BTS historical record.
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