According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Salina, KS (SLN) ranks #260 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Salina, KS posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a smaller regional airport.
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SLN on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Salina, KS sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Salina, KS handles more flight
volume than 32% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
31% 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.
Salina, KS vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 9,128 ·
On-time rate: 81.8%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes95,349 min
Carrier53,621 min · 56%
Late Aircraft25,698 min · 27%
NAS (National Aviation System)8,784 min · 9%
Weather7,246 min · 8%
Security0 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
SLN - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: March (94.8%) · worst: December (88.6%)
SLN - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
SLN - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 15.9 min · taxi-in 5.5 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
SLN's average taxi-out (15.9 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 10.9 min (September 2024) to 25.8 min (January 2025).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Salina, KS, both outside Kansas 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 Salina, KS is the delay mix: Carrier owns 56.2% of 95,349 delay minutes across 9,128 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 81.8% (2.8 pts above the 79% national average), with 1,663 delayed and 83 cancelled (0.91%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (27.0% late-aircraft, 56.2% carrier, 9.2% NAS, 7.6% weather, 0.0% security). As a quieter airport, a single late inbound can swing the month more than at a mega-hub.
On the multi-year calendar, SLN is strongest in March (94.8% on-time) and weakest in December (88.6%), a 6.2-point swing. Volume peaks in May (~133 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 79.1% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Salina, KS vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
81.8%Top 69%higher than 31% of 382 airports
Salina, KS
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.
SLN'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.
Check the busiest route from SLN before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in March rather than December if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 15.9 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 Salina, KS's on-time rate?
Salina, KS (SLN) has a 81.8% on-time rate across 9,128 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 2.8 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does SLN rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Salina, KS ranks #260 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 Salina, KS?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at SLN, accounting for 56.2% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 27.0% late-aircraft, 56.2% carrier, 9.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 7.6% weather, and 0.0% security.
When is the best time to fly through Salina, KS?
March is historically SLN's strongest month at 94.8% on-time, while December is the weakest at 88.6%, a 6.2-point swing across the BTS historical record.