According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Rockford, IL (RFD) ranks #253 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Rockford, IL posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.
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RFD on-time rate vs. the national average
Behind the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Rockford, IL sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Rockford, IL handles more flight
volume than 34% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
12% of them, placing it in the quadrant for quiet 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.
Rockford, IL vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 9,512 ·
On-time rate: 78.9%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes108,907 min
Late Aircraft47,572 min · 44%
Carrier29,720 min · 27%
NAS (National Aviation System)20,960 min · 19%
Weather10,187 min · 9%
Security468 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
RFD - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (89.4%) · worst: May (85.2%)
RFD - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
RFD - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 12.4 min · taxi-in 6.9 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
RFD's average taxi-out (12.4 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (December 2025, 16.1 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Rockford, IL.
Cancellation Rate
1.34%
127 of 9,512 flights
Diversion Rate
0.09%
9 of 9,512 flights
Delay Rate
21.1%
2,003 of 9,512 flights
Nationwide peers by on-time rate & flight volume
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Rockford, IL, both outside Illinois 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 Rockford, IL is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 43.7% of 108,907 delay minutes across 9,512 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 78.9% (0.1 pts below the 79% national average), with 2,003 delayed and 127 cancelled (1.34%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (43.7% late-aircraft, 27.3% carrier, 19.2% NAS, 9.4% weather, 0.4% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, RFD is strongest in September (89.4% on-time) and weakest in May (85.2%), a 4.2-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~195 flights/month). Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Rockford, IL vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
78.9%Top 88%higher than 12% of 382 airports
Rockford, IL
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.
RFD'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.
Compare RFD against airports with a similar on-time rate. Compare airports →
Travel in September rather than May if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 12.4 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 Rockford, IL's on-time rate?
Rockford, IL (RFD) has a 78.9% on-time rate across 9,512 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.1 pts below the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does RFD rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Rockford, IL ranks #253 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a smaller regional airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Rockford, IL?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at RFD, accounting for 43.7% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 43.7% late-aircraft, 27.3% carrier, 19.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 9.4% weather, and 0.4% security.
When is the best time to fly through Rockford, IL?
September is historically RFD's strongest month at 89.4% on-time, while May is the weakest at 85.2%, a 4.2-point swing across the BTS historical record.