Milwaukee, WI

What the Data Says About MKE

Milwaukee, WI in Milwaukee, Wisconsin handled 299,952 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 82.3% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 53,218 experienced delays, 3,604 were cancelled, and 300 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.20%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 74.9 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing MKE against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at MKE, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 38.5% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 34.5% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 21.1%. Weather contributes 5.8% 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, September runs the cleanest at MKE with a 93.9% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 90.2% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 4,621. The busiest route from MKE is to DEN (Denver), with 14,186 flights at a 83.7% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 82.3% on-time, 74.9-minute average delay, 1.20% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Milwaukee, WI.