According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Milwaukee, WI (MKE) ranks #55 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Milwaukee, WI posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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MKE on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Milwaukee, WI sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Milwaukee, WI handles more flight
volume than 86% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
37% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and delay-prone.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Milwaukee, WI vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 299,952 ·
On-time rate: 82.3%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes1,811,244 min
Carrier696,621 min · 38%
Late Aircraft625,778 min · 35%
NAS (National Aviation System)383,045 min · 21%
Weather104,242 min · 6%
Security1,558 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
MKE - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (93.9%) · worst: July (90.2%)
MKE - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
MKE - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 15.3 min · taxi-in 5.7 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MKE's average taxi-out (15.3 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 13.4 min (October 2024) to 20.3 min (January 2024).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Milwaukee, WI, both outside Wisconsin 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 Milwaukee, WI is the delay mix: Carrier owns 38.5% of 1,811,244 delay minutes across 299,952 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 82.3% (3.3 pts above the 79% national average), with 53,218 delayed and 3,604 cancelled (1.20%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (34.5% late-aircraft, 38.5% carrier, 21.1% NAS, 5.8% weather, 0.1% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, MKE is strongest in September (93.9% on-time) and weakest in July (90.2%), a 3.7-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~4,621 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 83.7% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Milwaukee, WI vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
82.3%Top 63%higher than 37% of 382 airports
Milwaukee, WI
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.
MKE's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from MKE before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 15.3 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 Milwaukee, WI's on-time rate?
Milwaukee, WI (MKE) has a 82.3% on-time rate across 299,952 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 3.3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does MKE rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Milwaukee, WI ranks #55 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Milwaukee, WI?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at MKE, accounting for 38.5% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 34.5% late-aircraft, 38.5% carrier, 21.1% NAS/air-traffic-control, 5.8% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Milwaukee, WI?
September is historically MKE's strongest month at 93.9% on-time, while July is the weakest at 90.2%, a 3.7-point swing across the BTS historical record.