Airport · PHL · Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Philadelphia, PA

Philadelphia, PA posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as one of the busiest U.S. airports. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 1,060,086 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is late aircraft.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

81.3%
On-time: Top 75%
on-time, US airports: 85 min
Delay when late: 1.19%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

1,060,086

Best Month

Nov 93.1%

Worst Month

Jul 87.3%

Delayed

198,194

Cancelled

12,586

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

What this shows PHL is marked in the 80-85% band.

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 7,748,606.

Late Aircraft 41.1% (3,183,256 min)

Carrier 31.7% (2,457,381 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 22.4% (1,731,955 min)

Weather 4.7% (364,129 min)

Security 0.2% (11,885 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: November (93.1% on-time). Most delays: July (87.3% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	13,863	2,737	93	90.3%
November	13,956	2,023	45	93.1%
October	16,147	2,454	52	92.7%
September	15,176	2,384	88	92.6%
August	16,992	3,778	205	89.1%
July	16,681	4,307	254	87.3%
June	14,963	3,616	208	88.2%
May	13,956	2,705	87	91%
April	14,153	2,373	449	92.1%
March	14,538	2,337	323	92.5%
February	12,637	2,030	124	92.7%
January	13,619	2,289	171	92.1%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at PHL.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	195,029	22,822	2,039	88.3%
2024	201,254	21,606	1,681	89.3%
2023	180,112	17,293	1,167	90.4%
2022	175,757	15,620	2,325	91.1%
2021	165,733	11,818	1,139	92.9%
2020	142,201	5,758	4,235	96%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Philadelphia, PA.

Cancellation Rate

1.19%

12,586 of 1,060,086 flights

Diversion Rate

0.11%

1,218 of 1,060,086 flights

Delay Rate

18.7%

198,194 of 1,060,086 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	14,945	2,162	2,009	176	16
Nov 2025	14,988	1,502	1,471	150	11
Oct 2025	18,610	1,986	1,990	41	14
Sep 2025	16,442	1,526	1,492	44	24
Aug 2025	18,242	2,533	2,280	119	35
Jul 2025	18,027	2,891	2,927	473	49
Jun 2025	17,390	2,527	2,609	282	27
May 2025	17,730	2,232	2,489	177	28
Apr 2025	17,207	1,768	1,878	55	27
Mar 2025	15,354	1,360	1,613	118	19
Feb 2025	12,718	1,186	1,319	219	8
Jan 2025	13,376	1,149	1,275	185	11
Dec 2024	14,924	1,679	1,713	34	25
Nov 2024	15,198	999	1,163	11	10
Oct 2024	18,715	1,234	1,474	89	10
Sep 2024	18,050	1,435	1,807	43	12
Aug 2024	20,479	3,107	3,070	498	35
Jul 2024	19,934	3,266	3,166	366	34
Jun 2024	18,750	2,466	2,382	259	24
May 2024	17,482	2,037	2,253	79	39
Apr 2024	15,787	1,382	1,502	47	13
Mar 2024	14,940	1,534	1,650	55	9
Feb 2024	13,113	910	1,064	17	8
Jan 2024	13,882	1,557	1,718	183	25

Top Routes from PHL

Busiest routes to and from Philadelphia, PA.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
MCO (Orlando) → PHL (Philadelphia)	32,254	74.8%	861 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → MCO (Orlando)	32,240	76.4%	861 mi
ATL (Atlanta) → PHL (Philadelphia)	32,104	80.2%	666 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → ATL (Atlanta)	32,089	83.4%	666 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → BOS (Boston)	26,321	82%	280 mi
BOS (Boston) → PHL (Philadelphia)	26,282	83.5%	280 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → ORD (Chicago)	23,846	83.4%	678 mi
ORD (Chicago) → PHL (Philadelphia)	23,837	77.8%	678 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → CLT (Charlotte)	19,924	81.4%	449 mi
CLT (Charlotte) → PHL (Philadelphia)	19,904	78.3%	449 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	18,570	80.2%	1,303 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → PHL (Philadelphia)	18,566	76%	1,303 mi
MIA (Miami) → PHL (Philadelphia)	16,851	76.5%	1,013 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → MIA (Miami)	16,803	78.4%	1,013 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → DTW (Detroit)	15,938	84.4%	453 mi
DTW (Detroit) → PHL (Philadelphia)	15,936	84.4%	453 mi
DEN (Denver) → PHL (Philadelphia)	15,251	74.8%	1,558 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → DEN (Denver)	15,213	80%	1,558 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)	15,161	78.2%	992 mi
FLL (Fort Lauderdale) → PHL (Philadelphia)	15,133	77.3%	992 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to Philadelphia, PA's 81.3%.

St. Louis, MO

81.3% on-time 687,272 flights

Memphis, TN

81.3% on-time 251,985 flights

Traverse City, MI

81.3% on-time 50,174 flights

Montrose/Delta, CO

81.3% on-time 32,233 flights

New York, NY

81.2% on-time 1,574,867 flights

Providence, RI

81.2% on-time 160,073 flights

Other Airports in Pennsylvania

Compare performance with other Pennsylvania airports.

PIT 83.3%

Pittsburgh, PA

Pittsburgh · 462,554 flights

MDT 82.8%

Harrisburg, PA

Harrisburg · 60,271 flights

ABE 83.7%

Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton, PA

Allentown/Bethlehem/Easton · 48,496 flights

AVP 82.7%

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, PA

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre · 21,551 flights

SCE 83.8%

State College, PA

State College · 9,139 flights

LBE 83.5%

Latrobe, PA

Latrobe · 8,539 flights

JST 82.1%

Johnstown, PA

Johnstown · 7,267 flights

ERI 87.3%

Erie, PA

Erie · 3,197 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around Philadelphia, PA.

Pennsylvania flight data

Statewide on-time and delay aggregates, plus every reporting airport in Pennsylvania.

View PA data →

Airport rankings

See where PHL sits among U.S. airports on on-time rate and average delay.

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

Put PHL head-to-head with another airport on delays and reliability.

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About PHL

Philadelphia, PA in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania handled 1,060,086 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 81.3% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 198,194 experienced delays, 12,586 were cancelled, and 1,218 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.19%, the diversion rate to 0.11%, and the average delay when departures run late is 84.7 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing PHL against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at PHL, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 41.1% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 31.7% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 22.4%. Weather contributes 4.7% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.2%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, November runs the cleanest at PHL with a 93.1% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 87.3% - a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in August, when average flights hit 16,992. The busiest route connecting PHL is to MCO (Orlando), with 32,254 flights at a 74.8% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 81.3% on-time, 84.7-minute average delay, 1.19% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Philadelphia, PA.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at Philadelphia, PA (PHL)? ▼

Philadelphia, PA has an overall on-time departure rate of 81.3%. Out of 1,060,086 total flights tracked, 198,194 experienced delays and 12,586 were cancelled.

What is the most common cause of delays at PHL? ▼

The top delay cause at Philadelphia, PA is Late Aircraft. Late Aircraft accounts for 41.1% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at PHL? ▼

The average delay at Philadelphia, PA is 84.7 minutes. This includes delays from carrier issues, weather, National Aviation System constraints, security, and late-arriving aircraft.

What is the best month to fly from PHL? ▼

Based on historical data, November has the best on-time performance at PHL with 93.1% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at PHL? ▼

July tends to have the most delays at PHL, with an on-time rate of only 87.3%.

How many routes operate from PHL? ▼

Philadelphia, PA serves at least 20 routes. The busiest route is MCO to PHL (Orlando - Philadelphia) with 32,254 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at PHL? ▼

Philadelphia, PA has a cancellation rate of 1.19%, based on 12,586 cancelled flights out of 1,060,086 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

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Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

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Why Flights Get Cancelled

Cancellation causes broken down by data

How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes

Use delay data to pick flights that arrive on time

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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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using PHL's data

An airport-level on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific flight.

Check the busiest route from PHL before you book a connection. See top routes
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
Scores vary by airline and route within the same airport; check the specific carrier you're flying. Browse airlines

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

All airports → | Rankings →

Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights Editorial

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025 Accessed 2026-07-23

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. Airport figures are computed directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.