According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Pensacola, FL (PNS) ranks #87 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Pensacola, FL posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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PNS on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Pensacola, FL sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Pensacola, FL handles more flight
volume than 77% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
26% 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.
Pensacola, FL vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 143,115 ·
On-time rate: 81.4%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes1,048,076 min
Late Aircraft494,088 min · 47%
Carrier318,387 min · 30%
NAS (National Aviation System)167,206 min · 16%
Weather67,064 min · 6%
Security1,331 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
PNS - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (94.3%) · worst: June (88.9%)
PNS - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
PNS - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 13.8 min · taxi-in 5.6 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
PNS's average taxi-out (13.8 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (November 2025, 15.1 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Pensacola, FL, both outside Florida 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 Pensacola, FL is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 47.1% of 1,048,076 delay minutes across 143,115 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 81.4% (2.4 pts above the 79% national average), with 26,670 delayed and 1,679 cancelled (1.17%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (47.1% late-aircraft, 30.4% carrier, 16.0% NAS, 6.4% 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, PNS is strongest in September (94.3% on-time) and weakest in June (88.9%), a 5.4-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~2,515 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 85.6% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Pensacola, FL vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
81.4%Top 74%higher than 26% of 382 airports
Pensacola, FL
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.
PNS's on-time book sits in the slower half of the BTS set; check the delay mix and the worst month before treating the headline as typical.
Check the busiest route from PNS before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 13.8 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 Pensacola, FL's on-time rate?
Pensacola, FL (PNS) has a 81.4% on-time rate across 143,115 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 2.4 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does PNS rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Pensacola, FL ranks #87 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 Pensacola, FL?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at PNS, accounting for 47.1% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 47.1% late-aircraft, 30.4% carrier, 16.0% NAS/air-traffic-control, 6.4% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Pensacola, FL?
September is historically PNS's strongest month at 94.3% on-time, while June is the weakest at 88.9%, a 5.4-point swing across the BTS historical record.