According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Mason City, IA (MCW) ranks #319 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Mason City, IA posts above-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.
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MCW on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Mason City, IA sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Mason City, IA handles more flight
volume than 17% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
50% of them, placing it in the quadrant for quiet 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.
Mason City, IA vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 5,851 ·
On-time rate: 83.4%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes65,771 min
Late Aircraft29,885 min · 45%
Carrier23,799 min · 36%
NAS (National Aviation System)6,759 min · 10%
Weather5,312 min · 8%
Security16 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
MCW - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: April (95.7%) · worst: August (87.4%)
MCW - on-time rate by year
2021–2025, year-over-year trend.
MCW - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 14.6 min · taxi-in 5.3 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MCW's average taxi-out (14.6 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 11.2 min (October 2024) to 18.9 min (November 2025).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Mason City, IA, both outside Iowa 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 Mason City, IA is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 45.4% of 65,771 delay minutes across 5,851 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.4% (4.4 pts above the 79% national average), with 973 delayed and 129 cancelled (2.20%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (45.4% late-aircraft, 36.2% carrier, 10.3% NAS, 8.1% weather, 0.0% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.
On the multi-year calendar, MCW is strongest in April (95.7% on-time) and weakest in August (87.4%), a 8.3-point swing. Volume peaks in May (~108 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ORD (Chicago) at 83.3% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Mason City, IA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.4%Top 50%higher than 50% of 382 airports
Mason City, IA
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 (2021–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
MCW's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from MCW before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in April rather than August if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 14.6 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 Mason City, IA's on-time rate?
Mason City, IA (MCW) has a 83.4% on-time rate across 5,851 BTS-tracked flights (2021-2025), 4.4 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the above-median on-time performance.
How does MCW rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Mason City, IA ranks #319 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a smaller regional airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Mason City, IA?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at MCW, accounting for 45.4% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 45.4% late-aircraft, 36.2% carrier, 10.3% NAS/air-traffic-control, 8.1% weather, and 0.0% security.
When is the best time to fly through Mason City, IA?
April is historically MCW's strongest month at 95.7% on-time, while August is the weakest at 87.4%, a 8.3-point swing across the BTS historical record.