According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Missoula, MT (MSO) ranks #144 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Missoula, MT posts above-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
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MSO on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Missoula, MT sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Missoula, MT handles more flight
volume than 62% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
55% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy 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.
Missoula, MT vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 52,758 ·
On-time rate: 83.9%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes396,973 min
Carrier162,229 min · 41%
Late Aircraft116,205 min · 29%
NAS (National Aviation System)73,934 min · 19%
Weather44,024 min · 11%
Security581 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
MSO - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (94.6%) · worst: July (89.4%)
MSO - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
MSO - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 19 min · taxi-in 5.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MSO's average taxi-out (19 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is January 2025 at 28.7 min; the lightest is September 2024 at 14.4 min.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Missoula, MT, both outside Montana 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 Missoula, MT is the delay mix: Carrier owns 40.9% of 396,973 delay minutes across 52,758 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.9% (4.9 pts above the 79% national average), with 8,501 delayed and 370 cancelled (0.70%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (29.3% late-aircraft, 40.9% carrier, 18.6% NAS, 11.1% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, MSO is strongest in November (94.6% on-time) and weakest in July (89.4%), a 5.2-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~1,113 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to SLC (Salt Lake City) at 91% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Missoula, MT vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.9%Top 45%higher than 55% of 382 airports
Missoula, MT
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.
MSO's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from MSO before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. January 2025 averaged 28.7 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 Missoula, MT's on-time rate?
Missoula, MT (MSO) has a 83.9% on-time rate across 52,758 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 4.9 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the above-median on-time performance.
How does MSO rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Missoula, MT ranks #144 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 Missoula, MT?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at MSO, accounting for 40.9% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 29.3% late-aircraft, 40.9% carrier, 18.6% NAS/air-traffic-control, 11.1% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Missoula, MT?
November is historically MSO's strongest month at 94.6% on-time, while July is the weakest at 89.4%, a 5.2-point swing across the BTS historical record.