According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Kotzebue, AK (OTZ) ranks #318 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Kotzebue, AK posts top-10% on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.
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OTZ on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Kotzebue, AK sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Kotzebue, AK handles more flight
volume than 17% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
93% 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.
Kotzebue, AK vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 5,950 ·
On-time rate: 88.7%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes17,355 min
Late Aircraft13,931 min · 80%
NAS (National Aviation System)1,518 min · 9%
Carrier1,207 min · 7%
Security537 min · 3%
Weather162 min · 1%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
OTZ - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: May (98%) · worst: December (87.5%)
OTZ - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
OTZ - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 9.6 min · taxi-in 3.9 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
OTZ's average taxi-out (9.6 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (January 2025, 13.4 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Kotzebue, AK, both outside Alaska 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 Kotzebue, AK is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 80.3% of 17,355 delay minutes across 5,950 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 88.7% (9.7 pts above the 79% national average), with 675 delayed and 164 cancelled (2.76%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (80.3% late-aircraft, 7.0% carrier, 8.7% NAS, 0.9% weather, 3.1% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.
On the multi-year calendar, OTZ is strongest in May (98% on-time) and weakest in December (87.5%), a 10.5-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~94 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ANC (Anchorage) at 89.7% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Kotzebue, AK vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
88.7%Top 7%higher than 93% of 382 airports
Kotzebue, AK
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.
OTZ's on-time book is stronger than most peers; the remaining risk sits in the delay mix, not a weak headline rate.
Check the busiest route from OTZ before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in May rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 9.6 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 Kotzebue, AK's on-time rate?
Kotzebue, AK (OTZ) has a 88.7% on-time rate across 5,950 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 9.7 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the top-10% on-time performance.
How does OTZ rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Kotzebue, AK ranks #318 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 Kotzebue, AK?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at OTZ, accounting for 80.3% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 80.3% late-aircraft, 7.0% carrier, 8.7% NAS/air-traffic-control, 0.9% weather, and 3.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Kotzebue, AK?
May is historically OTZ's strongest month at 98% on-time, while December is the weakest at 87.5%, a 10.5-point swing across the BTS historical record.