Airport · RST · Rochester, Minnesota

Rochester, MN

Rochester, MN posts top-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 20,848 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is carrier.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

85.8%
On-time: Top 25%
on-time, US airports: 90 min
Delay when late: 1.39%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

20,848

Best Month

Sep 95.6%

Worst Month

Dec 90.8%

Delayed

2,967

Cancelled

289

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

What this shows RST is marked in the 85-90% band.

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Carrier. Total delay minutes: 130,271.

Late Aircraft 23.5% (30,632 min)

Carrier 47.2% (61,423 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 14.3% (18,679 min)

Weather 15.0% (19,492 min)

Security 0.0% (45 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: September (95.6% on-time). Most delays: December (90.8% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	276	53	6	90.8%
November	264	26	2	95.2%
October	307	38	1	94.8%
September	285	27	0	95.6%
August	286	51	3	92.1%
July	284	50	1	92.6%
June	263	48	3	91.8%
May	322	43	2	93.9%
April	305	39	14	94.3%
March	381	41	8	95.4%
February	273	38	3	93.9%
January	293	48	6	93.1%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at RST.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	2,106	267	27	87.3%
2024	2,831	242	13	91.5%
2023	2,558	153	30	94%
2022	3,402	230	35	93.2%
2021	5,756	276	42	95.2%
2020	4,195	152	142	96.4%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Rochester, MN.

Cancellation Rate

1.39%

289 of 20,848 flights

Diversion Rate

0.04%

8 of 20,848 flights

Delay Rate

14.2%

2,967 of 20,848 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	198	51	49	9	0
Nov 2025	178	20	19	7	0
Oct 2025	191	29	39	0	0
Sep 2025	241	15	19	1	0
Aug 2025	200	28	37	4	0
Jul 2025	178	31	41	3	0
Jun 2025	263	30	48	2	0
May 2025	385	34	32	1	0
Apr 2025	207	22	26	0	0
Feb 2025	2	0	0	0	0
Jan 2025	63	7	8	0	0
Dec 2024	204	26	29	3	0
Nov 2024	179	10	14	0	0
Oct 2024	270	12	18	0	0
Sep 2024	277	18	17	0	0
Aug 2024	233	19	25	0	1
Jul 2024	247	27	42	1	0
Jun 2024	189	30	30	1	0
May 2024	290	34	48	2	0
Apr 2024	248	24	29	0	0
Mar 2024	310	23	22	1	0
Feb 2024	207	8	15	0	0
Jan 2024	177	11	19	5	0
Dec 2023	177	7	9	1	0

Top Routes from RST

Busiest routes to and from Rochester, MN.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
RST (Rochester) → MSP (Minneapolis)	5,351	89.1%	76 mi
MSP (Minneapolis) → RST (Rochester)	5,350	86.2%	76 mi
ORD (Chicago) → RST (Rochester)	4,394	81.2%	268 mi
RST (Rochester) → ORD (Chicago)	4,388	82.8%	268 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to Rochester, MN's 85.8%.

Salt Lake City, UT

85.8% on-time 1,319,985 flights

Bellingham, WA

85.8% on-time 29,229 flights

Flagstaff, AZ

85.8% on-time 22,330 flights

Redding, CA

85.8% on-time 16,709 flights

Fort Smith, AR

85.8% on-time 14,933 flights

Kearney, NE

85.8% on-time 5,971 flights

Other Airports in Minnesota

Compare performance with other Minnesota airports.

MSP 85.4%

Minneapolis, MN

Minneapolis · 1,406,487 flights

DLH 85.2%

Duluth, MN

Duluth · 23,374 flights

BJI 88%

Bemidji, MN

Bemidji · 8,666 flights

BRD 88.9%

Brainerd, MN

Brainerd · 7,762 flights

HIB 89%

Hibbing, MN

Hibbing · 7,678 flights

INL 88.3%

International Falls, MN

International Falls · 7,505 flights

STC 83.2%

St. Cloud, MN

St. Cloud · 1,690 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around Rochester, MN.

Minnesota flight data

Statewide on-time and delay aggregates, plus every reporting airport in Minnesota.

View MN data →

Airport rankings

See where RST sits among U.S. airports on on-time rate and average delay.

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

Put RST head-to-head with another airport on delays and reliability.

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About RST

Rochester, MN in Rochester, Minnesota handled 20,848 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 85.8% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 2,967 experienced delays, 289 were cancelled, and 8 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.39%, the diversion rate to 0.04%, and the average delay when departures run late is 90.2 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing RST against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at RST, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 47.2% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 23.5% and Weather at 15.0%. Weather contributes 15.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.0%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, September runs the cleanest at RST with a 95.6% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 90.8% - a 5-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 381. The busiest route connecting RST is to MSP (Minneapolis), with 5,351 flights at a 89.1% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 85.8% on-time, 90.2-minute average delay, 1.39% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Rochester, MN.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at Rochester, MN (RST)? ▼

Rochester, MN has an overall on-time departure rate of 85.8%. Out of 20,848 total flights tracked, 2,967 experienced delays and 289 were cancelled.

What is the most common cause of delays at RST? ▼

The top delay cause at Rochester, MN is Carrier. Carrier accounts for 47.2% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at RST? ▼

The average delay at Rochester, MN is 90.2 minutes. This includes delays from carrier issues, weather, National Aviation System constraints, security, and late-arriving aircraft.

What is the best month to fly from RST? ▼

Based on historical data, September has the best on-time performance at RST with 95.6% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at RST? ▼

December tends to have the most delays at RST, with an on-time rate of only 90.8%.

How many routes operate from RST? ▼

Rochester, MN serves at least 4 routes. The busiest route is RST to MSP (Rochester - Minneapolis) with 5,351 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at RST? ▼

Rochester, MN has a cancellation rate of 1.39%, based on 289 cancelled flights out of 20,848 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

Data-driven guides to help you understand airport and flight performance.

Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

Which carriers consistently outperform peers

Why Flights Get Cancelled

Cancellation causes broken down by data

How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes

Use delay data to pick flights that arrive on time

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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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using RST's data

An airport-level on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific flight.

Check the busiest route from RST before you book a connection. See top routes
Travel in September rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns
Scores vary by airline and route within the same airport; check the specific carrier you're flying. Browse airlines

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

All airports → | Rankings →

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 Editorial

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025 Accessed 2026-07-23

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. Airport figures are computed directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.