South Bend, IN

What the Data Says About SBN

South Bend, IN in South Bend, Indiana handled 72,322 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 81.5% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 13,350 experienced delays, 718 were cancelled, and 105 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 0.99%, the diversion rate to 0.15%, and the average delay when departures run late is 91.2 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing SBN against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at SBN, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 51.8% of total delay minutes, followed by Late Aircraft at 25.1% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 12.7%. Weather contributes 10.2% 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, October runs the cleanest at SBN with a 93% on-time rate, while December is the roughest at 89.5% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in October, when average flights hit 1,140. The busiest route from SBN is to SBN (South Bend), with 9,392 flights at a 76.6% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 81.5% on-time, 91.2-minute average delay, 0.99% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at South Bend, IN.