Raleigh/Durham, NC

What the Data Says About RDU

Raleigh/Durham, NC in Raleigh/Durham, North Carolina handled 616,332 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 81.6% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 113,435 experienced delays, 7,264 were cancelled, and 602 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.18%, the diversion rate to 0.10%, and the average delay when departures run late is 77.6 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing RDU against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at RDU, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 41.9% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 30.4% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 23.9%. Weather contributes 3.8% 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, February runs the cleanest at RDU with a 93.2% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 87.4% — a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 9,136. The busiest route from RDU is to RDU (Raleigh/Durham), with 25,309 flights at a 83.4% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 81.6% on-time, 77.6-minute average delay, 1.18% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Raleigh/Durham, NC.