According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) ranks #19 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Salt Lake City, UT posts top-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as one of the busiest U.S. airports.
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SLC on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Salt Lake City, UT sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Salt Lake City, UT handles more flight
volume than 95% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
75% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and reliable.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Salt Lake City, UT vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 1,319,985 ·
On-time rate: 85.8%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes6,440,965 min
Carrier3,256,529 min · 51%
Late Aircraft1,615,845 min · 25%
NAS (National Aviation System)1,041,811 min · 16%
Weather520,744 min · 8%
Security6,036 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
SLC - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: November (94.7%) · worst: July (90.7%)
SLC - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
SLC - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 18.1 min · taxi-in 7.1 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
SLC's average taxi-out (18.1 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 16.5 min (October 2024) to 22.5 min (January 2024).
Cancellation & Diversion Analysis
Flight disruption statistics for Salt Lake City, UT.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Salt Lake City, UT, both outside Utah 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 Salt Lake City, UT is the delay mix: Carrier owns 50.6% of 6,440,965 delay minutes across 1,319,985 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 85.8% (6.8 pts above the 79% national average), with 186,884 delayed and 7,511 cancelled (0.57%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (25.1% late-aircraft, 50.6% carrier, 16.2% NAS, 8.1% 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, SLC is strongest in November (94.7% on-time) and weakest in July (90.7%), a 4.0-point swing. Volume peaks in August (~19,688 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 78.3% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Salt Lake City, UT vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
85.8%Top 25%higher than 75% of 382 airports
Salt Lake City, UT
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.
SLC's on-time book is stronger than most peers; the remaining risk sits in the delay mix, not a weak headline rate.
Check the busiest route from SLC before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in November rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 18.1 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 Salt Lake City, UT's on-time rate?
Salt Lake City, UT (SLC) has a 85.8% on-time rate across 1,319,985 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 6.8 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the top-quartile on-time performance.
How does SLC rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Salt Lake City, UT ranks #19 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it one of the busiest U.S. airports.
What's the most common cause of delays at Salt Lake City, UT?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at SLC, accounting for 50.6% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 25.1% late-aircraft, 50.6% carrier, 16.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 8.1% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Salt Lake City, UT?
November is historically SLC's strongest month at 94.7% on-time, while July is the weakest at 90.7%, a 4.0-point swing across the BTS historical record.