According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) ranks #36 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Raleigh/Durham, NC posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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RDU on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 4,194,549.
Late Aircraft41.9% (1,756,165 min)
Carrier30.4% (1,277,182 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)23.9% (1,000,804 min)
Weather3.8% (157,390 min)
Security0.1% (3,008 min)
RDU - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (93.2%) · worst: July (87.4%)
RDU - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
RDU - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 17.6 min · taxi-in 6.8 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
RDU's average taxi-out (17.6 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 16.1 min (August 2025) to 18.7 min (December 2025).
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Raleigh/Durham, NC.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Raleigh/Durham, NC, both outside North Carolina 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 Raleigh/Durham, NC is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 41.9% of 4,194,549 delay minutes across 616,332 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 81.6% (2.6 pts above the 79% national average), with 113,435 delayed and 7,264 cancelled (1.18%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (41.9% late-aircraft, 30.4% carrier, 23.9% NAS, 3.8% 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, RDU is strongest in February (93.2% on-time) and weakest in July (87.4%), a 5.8-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~9,136 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 83.4% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Raleigh/Durham, NC vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
81.6%Top 71%higher than 29% of 382 airports
Raleigh/Durham, NC
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.
RDU'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 RDU before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in February rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 17.6 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 Raleigh/Durham, NC's on-time rate?
Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) has a 81.6% on-time rate across 616,332 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 2.6 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does RDU rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Raleigh/Durham, NC ranks #36 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 Raleigh/Durham, NC?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at RDU, accounting for 41.9% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 41.9% late-aircraft, 30.4% carrier, 23.9% NAS/air-traffic-control, 3.8% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Raleigh/Durham, NC?
February is historically RDU's strongest month at 93.2% on-time, while July is the weakest at 87.4%, a 5.8-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