Owensboro, KY

What the Data Says About OWB

Owensboro, KY in Owensboro, Kentucky handled 662 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2023, posting a 79% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 139 experienced delays, 21 were cancelled, and 2 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 3.17%, the diversion rate to 0.30%, and the average delay when departures run late is 63.5 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing OWB against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at OWB, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 56.5% of total delay minutes, followed by NAS (National Aviation System) at 16.2% and Carrier at 16.2%. Weather contributes 10.7% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.3%. 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 OWB with a 96.4% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 71.7% — a 25-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in July, when average flights hit 20. Combine these numbers — 79% on-time, 63.5-minute average delay, 3.17% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Owensboro, KY.