FlightRecord

Denver International Airport (DEN): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Denver International Airport (DEN) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 64% in July 2025. Across the year it averages 76% against a national 78%, over roughly 873 departures a day to 195 destinations.

Departures on-time
76%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
17 min
Arrivals on-time
79%
Cancelled
0.8%
Destinations
195
nonstop
Airlines
10

Plan your departure from DEN

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
94% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
79% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
81% on-time from DEN
Cancellation risk
0.8%
below the US average
Check routes from DEN ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at DEN50%75%100%June 2024: 70% on-time (27,585 flights)70Jun 2024July 2024: 71% on-time (28,401 flights)71August 2024: 74% on-time (27,334 flights)74September 2024: 84% on-time (26,146 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (26,929 flights)86November 2024: 82% on-time (25,224 flights)82December 2024: 82% on-time (25,905 flights)82Dec 2024January 2025: 77% on-time (24,732 flights)77February 2025: 77% on-time (22,816 flights)77March 2025: 81% on-time (26,655 flights)81Mar 2025April 2025: 76% on-time (25,280 flights)76May 2025: 69% on-time (26,894 flights)69June 2025: 65% on-time (28,175 flights)65Jun 2025July 2025: 64% on-time (29,433 flights)64August 2025: 70% on-time (28,084 flights)70September 2025: 80% on-time (26,548 flights)80Sep 2025October 2025: 81% on-time (27,763 flights)81November 2025: 83% on-time (25,280 flights)83December 2025: 72% on-time (26,026 flights)72Dec 2025January 2026: 81% on-time (24,484 flights)81February 2026: 80% on-time (23,046 flights)80March 2026: 75% on-time (27,089 flights)75Mar 2026April 2026: 82% on-time (25,345 flights)82May 2026: 76% on-time (27,406 flights)76

Best time of day to depart from DEN

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at DEN5 a.m.: 94% on-time (8,347 flights)56 a.m.: 93% on-time (20,119 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (30,243 flights)78 a.m.: 89% on-time (36,172 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (47,910 flights)910 a.m.: 81% on-time (39,271 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (61,975 flights)1112 p.m.: 77% on-time (24,045 flights)121 p.m.: 80% on-time (57,130 flights)132 p.m.: 71% on-time (23,534 flights)143 p.m.: 74% on-time (33,672 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (29,900 flights)165 p.m.: 70% on-time (61,401 flights)176 p.m.: 60% on-time (22,902 flights)187 p.m.: 65% on-time (54,597 flights)198 p.m.: 66% on-time (37,982 flights)209 p.m.: 66% on-time (22,413 flights)2110 p.m.: 60% on-time (9,059 flights)2211 p.m.: 77% on-time (9,462 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday76%16 min
Tuesdaybest79%15 min
Wednesday78%14 min
Thursday75%17 min
Friday74%18 min
Saturday77%15 min
Sunday75%18 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from DEN ↓

Busiest routes from DEN

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
DEN → PHX (Phoenix)8,89477%16 min
DEN → SLC (Salt Lake City)7,76578%15 min
DEN → LAX (Los Angeles)7,72880%14 min
DEN → LAS (Las Vegas)7,06676%16 min
DEN → SEA (Seattle)6,31875%16 min
DEN → ORD (Chicago)6,19273%22 min
DEN → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)6,02175%21 min
DEN → SAN (San Diego)5,88276%15 min
DEN → MSP (Minneapolis)5,83577%15 min
DEN → ATL (Atlanta)5,58678%15 min
DEN → SFO (San Francisco)5,39171%19 min
DEN → AUS (Austin)5,23177%15 min
DEN → COS (Colorado Springs)5,05976%19 min
DEN → LGA (New York)4,67373%19 min
DEN → IAH (Houston)4,63278%15 min
DEN → MCO (Orlando)4,58277%16 min
DEN → PDX (Portland)4,29776%15 min
DEN → MCI (Kansas City)4,22977%15 min
DEN → BOS (Boston)3,91173%20 min
DEN → SMF (Sacramento)3,83275%15 min
DEN → SNA (Santa Ana)3,70881%10 min
DEN → BNA (Nashville)3,66576%14 min
DEN → STL (St. Louis)3,64578%14 min
DEN → IAD (Washington)3,62280%14 min
DEN → EWR (Newark)3,29374%22 min
DEN → OMA (Omaha)3,26777%15 min
DEN → OKC (Oklahoma City)3,16676%16 min
DEN → ABQ (Albuquerque)3,16078%14 min
DEN → TPA (Tampa)3,10675%16 min
DEN → DTW (Detroit)3,08178%14 min
DEN → BOI (Boise)3,04076%15 min
DEN → SAT (San Antonio)3,01578%14 min
DEN → DAL (Dallas)3,01473%16 min
DEN → PHL (Philadelphia)2,99374%20 min
DEN → BWI (Baltimore)2,92577%13 min
DEN → RAP (Rapid City)2,90877%18 min
DEN → CLT (Charlotte)2,83379%16 min
DEN → TUS (Tucson)2,79778%14 min
DEN → BZN (Bozeman)2,73779%13 min
DEN → ASE (Aspen)2,71774%24 min
DEN → ONT (Ontario)2,68275%15 min
DEN → SJC (San Jose)2,59977%14 min
DEN → RNO (Reno)2,57175%15 min
DEN → IND (Indianapolis)2,56177%15 min
DEN → CPR (Casper)2,54378%18 min
DEN → MIA (Miami)2,50973%21 min
DEN → TUL (Tulsa)2,41476%15 min
DEN → MDW (Chicago)2,38576%15 min
DEN → HOU (Houston)2,34475%15 min
DEN → MKE (Milwaukee)2,33575%17 min

Compare airlines departing DEN ↓

Where flights into DEN come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
PHX (Phoenix) → DEN8,89379%15 min
SLC (Salt Lake City) → DEN7,76377%16 min
LAX (Los Angeles) → DEN7,72983%12 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → DEN7,06078%15 min
SEA (Seattle) → DEN6,32578%14 min
ORD (Chicago) → DEN6,19876%19 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → DEN6,01671%22 min
SAN (San Diego) → DEN5,88078%15 min

Most reliable routes

  1. DEN → ABI86%
  2. DEN → GSP85%
  3. DEN → COU85%
  4. DEN → ATY84%
  5. DEN → KOA84%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. DEN → ALB57%
  2. DEN → PVD61%
  3. DEN → PIA62%
  4. DEN → BUF64%
  5. DEN → HOB65%

What causes delays at DEN

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing DEN.

  • Late-arriving aircraft44%
  • Airline operations33%
  • National airspace system19%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near Denver

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
COS — City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport73 mi81%17 min
CYS — Cheyenne Regional Jerry Olson Field90 mi85%19 min
LAR — Laramie Regional Airport113 mi81%23 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at DEN

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines81%16 min23,223
SkyWest Airlines81%17 min144,734
United Airlines80%15 min210,388
American Airlines78%24 min17,317
Alaska Airlines77%15 min4,892
Frontier Airlines75%18 min46,726
Envoy Air72%24 min655
Allegiant Air70%32 min842
Southwest Airlines69%18 min181,277
JetBlue Airways66%33 min2,526

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at DEN?
24% of departures from Denver International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 17 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from DEN?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at DEN, versus 60% around 6 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at DEN?
In this dataset, July 2025 was the weakest month at DEN, with 64% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at DEN?
0.8% of scheduled departures from DEN were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 632,580 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.