Rapid City, SD

What the Data Says About RAP

Rapid City, SD in Rapid City, South Dakota handled 58,593 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 83.1% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 9,877 experienced delays, 713 were cancelled, and 95 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.22%, the diversion rate to 0.16%, and the average delay when departures run late is 85.3 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing RAP against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at RAP, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 36.8% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 33.4% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 16.5%. Weather contributes 13.3% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.1%. 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 RAP with a 94.1% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 89.7% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in August, when average flights hit 1,119. The busiest route from RAP is to RAP (Rapid City), with 10,350 flights at a 79.2% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 83.1% on-time, 85.3-minute average delay, 1.22% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Rapid City, SD.