According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Rapid City, SD (RAP) ranks #138 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Rapid City, SD posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
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RAP on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes: 450,583.
Late Aircraft33.4% (150,366 min)
Carrier36.8% (165,624 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)16.5% (74,174 min)
Weather13.3% (60,020 min)
Security0.1% (399 min)
RAP - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (94.1%) · worst: July (89.7%)
RAP - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
RAP - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 19.7 min · taxi-in 5.8 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
RAP's average taxi-out (19.7 min) runs longer than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). The heaviest month in this window is February 2025 at 28.0 min; the lightest is August 2024 at 15.1 min.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Rapid City, SD, both outside South Dakota 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 Rapid City, SD is the delay mix: Carrier owns 36.8% of 450,583 delay minutes across 58,593 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.1% (4.1 pts above the 79% national average), with 9,877 delayed and 713 cancelled (1.22%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (33.4% late-aircraft, 36.8% carrier, 16.5% NAS, 13.3% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, RAP is strongest in November (94.1% on-time) and weakest in July (89.7%), a 4.4-point swing. Volume peaks in August (~1,119 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 79.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Rapid City, SD vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.1%Top 54%higher than 46% of 382 airports
Rapid City, SD
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.
RAP's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from RAP before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Build extra connection buffer when taxi-out spikes. February 2025 averaged 28.0 min. 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 Rapid City, SD's on-time rate?
Rapid City, SD (RAP) has a 83.1% on-time rate across 58,593 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 4.1 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does RAP rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Rapid City, SD ranks #138 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a mid-size U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Rapid City, SD?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at RAP, accounting for 36.8% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 33.4% late-aircraft, 36.8% carrier, 16.5% NAS/air-traffic-control, 13.3% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Rapid City, SD?
November is historically RAP's strongest month at 94.1% on-time, while July is the weakest at 89.7%, a 4.4-point swing across the BTS historical record.
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