According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Tampa, FL (TPA) ranks #29 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Tampa, FL posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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TPA 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: 5,820,971.
Late Aircraft47.0% (2,738,380 min)
Carrier28.4% (1,651,191 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)20.3% (1,180,866 min)
Weather4.2% (246,078 min)
Security0.1% (4,456 min)
TPA - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: October (92.9%) · worst: July (86.9%)
TPA - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
TPA - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 15.8 min · taxi-in 6 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
TPA's average taxi-out (15.8 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 13.7 min (October 2024) to 18.6 min (March 2025).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Tampa, FL, both outside Florida 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 Tampa, FL is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 47.0% of 5,820,971 delay minutes across 860,941 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 79.8% (0.8 pts above the 79% national average), with 173,948 delayed and 11,168 cancelled (1.30%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (47.0% late-aircraft, 28.4% carrier, 20.3% NAS, 4.2% 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, TPA is strongest in October (92.9% on-time) and weakest in July (86.9%), a 6.0-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~14,903 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 83.4% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Tampa, FL vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
79.8%Top 85%higher than 15% of 382 airports
Tampa, FL
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.
TPA'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 TPA before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in October rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 15.8 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 Tampa, FL's on-time rate?
Tampa, FL (TPA) has a 79.8% on-time rate across 860,941 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.8 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does TPA rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Tampa, FL ranks #29 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 Tampa, FL?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at TPA, accounting for 47.0% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 47.0% late-aircraft, 28.4% carrier, 20.3% NAS/air-traffic-control, 4.2% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Tampa, FL?
October is historically TPA's strongest month at 92.9% on-time, while July is the weakest at 86.9%, a 6.0-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