Mason City, IA

What the Data Says About MCW

Mason City, IA in Mason City, Iowa handled 5,851 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2021 and 2025, posting a 83.4% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 973 experienced delays, 129 were cancelled, and 4 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 2.20%, the diversion rate to 0.07%, and the average delay when departures run late is 119.2 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing MCW against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at MCW, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 45.4% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 36.2% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 10.3%. Weather contributes 8.1% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.0%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, April runs the cleanest at MCW with a 95.7% on-time rate, while August is the roughest at 87.4% — a 8-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in May, when average flights hit 108. The busiest route from MCW is to MCW (Mason City), with 1,995 flights at a 83.3% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 83.4% on-time, 119.2-minute average delay, 2.20% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Mason City, IA.