According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), St. Louis, MO (STL) ranks #31 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). St. Louis, MO posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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STL on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 4,041,413.
Late Aircraft44.1% (1,783,541 min)
Carrier33.9% (1,368,105 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)17.9% (722,924 min)
Weather4.0% (161,927 min)
Security0.1% (4,916 min)
STL - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: February (92.3%) · worst: July (86.4%)
STL - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
STL - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 12.5 min · taxi-in 5.9 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
STL's average taxi-out (12.5 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (January 2024, 14.6 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for St. Louis, MO, both outside Missouri 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 St. Louis, MO is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 44.1% of 4,041,413 delay minutes across 687,272 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 81.3% (2.3 pts above the 79% national average), with 128,602 delayed and 8,116 cancelled (1.18%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (44.1% late-aircraft, 33.9% carrier, 17.9% NAS, 4.0% 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, STL is strongest in February (92.3% on-time) and weakest in July (86.4%), a 5.9-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~10,502 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DEN (Denver) at 79.9% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
St. Louis, MO vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
81.3%Top 75%higher than 25% of 382 airports
St. Louis, MO
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.
STL'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 STL before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in February rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 12.5 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 St. Louis, MO's on-time rate?
St. Louis, MO (STL) has a 81.3% on-time rate across 687,272 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 2.3 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does STL rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
St. Louis, MO ranks #31 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at St. Louis, MO?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at STL, accounting for 44.1% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 44.1% late-aircraft, 33.9% carrier, 17.9% NAS/air-traffic-control, 4.0% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through St. Louis, MO?
February is historically STL's strongest month at 92.3% on-time, while July is the weakest at 86.4%, a 5.9-point swing across the BTS historical record.
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