Airport · TPA · Tampa, Florida

Tampa, FL

Tampa, FL posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport. According to the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, drawn from 860,941 flights (2020–2025); its biggest delay driver is late aircraft.

Compiled by PlainFlights Editorial, Flight Performance Editorial Team

Data updated 2026-06-13

79.8%
On-time: Top 85%
on-time, US airports: 73 min
Delay when late: 1.30%
Cancelled

Key Performance Metrics

Total Flights

860,941

Best Month

Oct 92.9%

Worst Month

Jul 86.9%

Delayed

173,948

Cancelled

11,168

60-65%

1
65-70%

4
70-75%

9
75-80%

48
80-85%

192
85-90%

116
90-95%

12

What this shows TPA is marked in the 75-80% band.

Delay Cause Breakdown

Top delay cause: Late Aircraft. Total delay minutes: 5,820,971.

Late Aircraft 47.0% (2,738,380 min)

Carrier 28.4% (1,651,191 min)

NAS (National Aviation System) 20.3% (1,180,866 min)

Weather 4.2% (246,078 min)

Security 0.1% (4,456 min)

Seasonal Performance Patterns

Monthly averages across all years of data. Best month: October (92.9% on-time). Most delays: July (86.9% on-time).

Month	Avg Flights	Avg Delayed	Avg Cancelled	On-Time %
December	13,056	2,884	122	89.7%
November	12,118	1,900	62	92.7%
October	11,144	1,700	147	92.9%
September	9,944	1,552	161	92.7%
August	11,086	2,521	182	89.1%
July	11,726	3,268	119	86.9%
June	10,938	2,953	89	87%
May	11,444	2,372	57	90.1%
April	12,629	2,412	398	90.9%
March	14,903	3,046	293	90.3%
February	11,907	2,065	83	92%
January	12,595	2,320	149	91.5%

Year-Over-Year Performance

Annual flight volume and on-time trends at TPA.

Year	Flights	Delayed	Cancelled	On-Time %
2025	158,879	17,203	962	89.2%
2024	157,029	16,510	1,985	89.5%
2023	157,327	16,241	1,188	89.7%
2022	146,271	16,032	2,548	89%
2021	136,799	11,551	1,186	91.6%
2020	104,636	4,386	3,299	95.8%

Cancellation & Diversion Analysis

Flight disruption statistics for Tampa, FL.

Cancellation Rate

1.30%

11,168 of 860,941 flights

Diversion Rate

0.11%

949 of 860,941 flights

Delay Rate

20.2%

173,948 of 860,941 flights

Monthly Performance

Recent 24 months of flight data.

Period	Flights	Dep Delayed	Arr Delayed	Cancelled	Diverted
Dec 2025	13,712	1,735	1,931	93	15
Nov 2025	12,845	1,182	1,373	155	10
Oct 2025	12,153	1,149	1,310	31	8
Sep 2025	11,003	729	807	12	9
Aug 2025	12,335	1,457	1,581	43	18
Jul 2025	13,542	1,990	2,279	121	45
Jun 2025	13,133	1,846	1,991	85	23
May 2025	13,937	1,639	1,753	43	10
Apr 2025	14,591	1,348	1,496	56	22
Mar 2025	16,106	1,644	1,706	138	31
Feb 2025	12,612	1,247	1,417	55	19
Jan 2025	12,910	1,237	1,391	130	10
Dec 2024	13,602	1,570	1,700	24	13
Nov 2024	12,696	812	827	15	8
Oct 2024	12,108	734	820	634	6
Sep 2024	10,880	781	885	300	7
Aug 2024	11,799	1,456	1,571	251	17
Jul 2024	12,654	2,008	2,198	168	24
Jun 2024	12,490	1,634	1,748	61	21
May 2024	13,689	1,790	1,929	75	35
Apr 2024	14,239	1,260	1,392	93	10
Mar 2024	16,083	2,155	2,404	126	19
Feb 2024	13,144	886	1,054	24	17
Jan 2024	13,645	1,424	1,782	214	16

Top Routes from TPA

Busiest routes to and from Tampa, FL.

Route	Flights	On-Time	Distance
TPA (Tampa) → ATL (Atlanta)	36,188	83.4%	406 mi
ATL (Atlanta) → TPA (Tampa)	36,182	78.6%	406 mi
CLT (Charlotte) → TPA (Tampa)	18,976	77.4%	507 mi
TPA (Tampa) → CLT (Charlotte)	18,970	83.1%	507 mi
TPA (Tampa) → ORD (Chicago)	18,049	81%	1,012 mi
ORD (Chicago) → TPA (Tampa)	18,022	78.2%	1,012 mi
TPA (Tampa) → DEN (Denver)	17,056	80.2%	1,506 mi
DEN (Denver) → TPA (Tampa)	17,049	75.3%	1,506 mi
BWI (Baltimore) → TPA (Tampa)	17,031	78.5%	842 mi
TPA (Tampa) → BWI (Baltimore)	16,876	82.5%	842 mi
TPA (Tampa) → EWR (Newark)	16,659	78.6%	997 mi
EWR (Newark) → TPA (Tampa)	16,654	77.6%	997 mi
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → TPA (Tampa)	16,201	73.3%	929 mi
TPA (Tampa) → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)	16,196	78.9%	929 mi
TPA (Tampa) → PHL (Philadelphia)	14,580	80.8%	920 mi
PHL (Philadelphia) → TPA (Tampa)	14,568	79.1%	920 mi
BOS (Boston) → TPA (Tampa)	14,487	75.2%	1,185 mi
TPA (Tampa) → BOS (Boston)	14,484	77.8%	1,185 mi
TPA (Tampa) → LGA (New York)	13,999	78.7%	1,010 mi
LGA (New York) → TPA (Tampa)	13,976	76.1%	1,010 mi

Airports With a Similar On-Time Rate

Other U.S. airports nationwide whose on-time rate is closest to Tampa, FL's 79.8%.

Hayden, CO

79.7% on-time 27,069 flights

Boston, MA

79.9% on-time 1,455,478 flights

New Orleans, LA

79.9% on-time 539,385 flights

Christiansted, VI

79.9% on-time 14,135 flights

Asheville, NC

80% on-time 114,713 flights

Sarasota/Bradenton, FL

79.5% on-time 177,587 flights

Other Airports in Florida

Compare performance with other Florida airports.

MCO 76.7%

Orlando, FL

Orlando · 1,718,833 flights

MIA 77.9%

Miami, FL

Miami · 1,160,127 flights

FLL 76.4%

Fort Lauderdale, FL

Fort Lauderdale · 1,010,982 flights

RSW 80.9%

Fort Myers, FL

Fort Myers · 420,518 flights

JAX 80.4%

Jacksonville, FL

Jacksonville · 316,106 flights

PBI 76.9%

West Palm Beach/Palm Beach, FL

West Palm Beach/Palm Beach · 302,058 flights

SRQ 79.5%

Sarasota/Bradenton, FL

Sarasota/Bradenton · 177,587 flights

PNS 81.4%

Pensacola, FL

Pensacola · 143,115 flights

Keep exploring

More flight data around Tampa, FL.

Florida flight data

Statewide on-time and delay aggregates, plus every reporting airport in Florida.

View FL data →

Airport rankings

See where TPA sits among U.S. airports on on-time rate and average delay.

Best on-time airports →

Compare airports

Put TPA head-to-head with another airport on delays and reliability.

Open comparison tool →

What the Data Says About TPA

Tampa, FL in Tampa, Florida handled 860,941 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 79.8% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 173,948 experienced delays, 11,168 were cancelled, and 949 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.30%, the diversion rate to 0.11%, and the average delay when departures run late is 73.4 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing TPA against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at TPA, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 47.0% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 28.4% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 20.3%. Weather contributes 4.2% 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 TPA with a 92.9% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 86.9% - a 6-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 14,903. The busiest route connecting TPA is to ATL (Atlanta), with 36,188 flights at a 83.4% on-time rate. Combine these numbers - 79.8% on-time, 73.4-minute average delay, 1.30% cancellation rate, and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Tampa, FL.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the on-time performance rate at Tampa, FL (TPA)? ▼

Tampa, FL has an overall on-time departure rate of 79.8%. Out of 860,941 total flights tracked, 173,948 experienced delays and 11,168 were cancelled.

What is the most common cause of delays at TPA? ▼

The top delay cause at Tampa, FL is Late Aircraft. Late Aircraft accounts for 47.0% of all delay minutes.

What is the average delay time at TPA? ▼

The average delay at Tampa, FL is 73.4 minutes. This includes delays from carrier issues, weather, National Aviation System constraints, security, and late-arriving aircraft.

What is the best month to fly from TPA? ▼

Based on historical data, October has the best on-time performance at TPA with 92.9% of flights departing on time.

What is the worst month for delays at TPA? ▼

July tends to have the most delays at TPA, with an on-time rate of only 86.9%.

How many routes operate from TPA? ▼

Tampa, FL serves at least 20 routes. The busiest route is TPA to ATL (Tampa - Atlanta) with 36,188 flights.

What is the cancellation rate at TPA? ▼

Tampa, FL has a cancellation rate of 1.30%, based on 11,168 cancelled flights out of 860,941 total flights tracked.

Flight Guides

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Best & Worst Airlines for On-Time Performance

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Why Flights Get Cancelled

Cancellation causes broken down by data

How to Choose Reliable Flight Routes

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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.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Using TPA's data

An airport-level on-time rate is a starting point, not a guarantee for your specific flight.

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
Scores vary by airline and route within the same airport; check the specific carrier you're flying. Browse airlines

On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.

All airports → | Rankings →

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 Editorial

Source: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline on-time performance and operational reliability · 2025 Accessed 2026-07-23

Every figure on PlainFlights is rendered directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no number is typed in by an editor. Airport figures are computed directly from BTS On-Time Performance data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.