FlightRecord

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 82% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 62% in June 2026. Across the year it averages 72% against a national 78%, over roughly 856 departures a day to 189 destinations.

Departures on-time
72%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
21 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
2.6%
Destinations
189
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from DFW

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
89% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
77% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Envoy Air
83% on-time from DFW
Cancellation risk
2.6%
above the US average
Check routes from DFW ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at DFW50%75%100%August 2024: 73% on-time (27,900 flights)73Aug 2024September 2024: 80% on-time (26,198 flights)80October 2024: 82% on-time (27,861 flights)82November 2024: 79% on-time (25,197 flights)79Nov 2024December 2024: 73% on-time (25,814 flights)73January 2025: 77% on-time (25,124 flights)77February 2025: 78% on-time (22,869 flights)78Feb 2025March 2025: 75% on-time (27,095 flights)75April 2025: 71% on-time (25,689 flights)71May 2025: 69% on-time (27,178 flights)69May 2025June 2025: 63% on-time (28,224 flights)63July 2025: 64% on-time (28,959 flights)64August 2025: 67% on-time (27,091 flights)67Aug 2025September 2025: 78% on-time (25,641 flights)78October 2025: 76% on-time (27,182 flights)76November 2025: 73% on-time (25,032 flights)73Nov 2025December 2025: 70% on-time (25,770 flights)70January 2026: 73% on-time (24,229 flights)73February 2026: 77% on-time (22,019 flights)77Feb 2026March 2026: 71% on-time (26,008 flights)71April 2026: 73% on-time (25,686 flights)73May 2026: 71% on-time (27,419 flights)71May 2026June 2026: 62% on-time (27,815 flights)62July 2026: 65% on-time (28,623 flights)65

Best time of day to depart from DFW

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at DFW5 a.m.: 89% on-time (8,273 flights)56 a.m.: 87% on-time (10,298 flights)67 a.m.: 85% on-time (44,272 flights)78 a.m.: 84% on-time (63,420 flights)89 a.m.: 78% on-time (24,659 flights)910 a.m.: 79% on-time (52,268 flights)1011 a.m.: 72% on-time (29,234 flights)1112 p.m.: 75% on-time (50,966 flights)121 p.m.: 69% on-time (29,538 flights)132 p.m.: 71% on-time (43,272 flights)143 p.m.: 67% on-time (32,564 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (43,638 flights)165 p.m.: 65% on-time (35,928 flights)176 p.m.: 62% on-time (39,790 flights)187 p.m.: 63% on-time (49,593 flights)198 p.m.: 60% on-time (33,942 flights)209 p.m.: 67% on-time (43,371 flights)2110 p.m.: 62% on-time (23,926 flights)2211 p.m.: 55% on-time (754 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday71%23 min
Tuesdaybest77%19 min
Wednesday74%19 min
Thursday73%20 min
Friday73%20 min
Saturday72%22 min
Sunday69%25 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from DFW ↓

Busiest routes from DFW

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
DFW → ORD (Chicago)7,00171%24 min
DFW → LGA (New York)6,70570%23 min
DFW → ATL (Atlanta)6,69075%20 min
DFW → LAX (Los Angeles)6,23574%19 min
DFW → DEN (Denver)6,03271%23 min
DFW → IAH (Houston)5,80571%24 min
DFW → PHX (Phoenix)5,23072%21 min
DFW → SEA (Seattle)5,22871%20 min
DFW → LAS (Las Vegas)5,13269%22 min
DFW → MCO (Orlando)4,90265%26 min
DFW → MIA (Miami)4,82269%24 min
DFW → AUS (Austin)4,70570%23 min
DFW → SAT (San Antonio)4,37667%27 min
DFW → SFO (San Francisco)4,17965%26 min
DFW → SLC (Salt Lake City)3,86971%23 min
DFW → CLT (Charlotte)3,86873%20 min
DFW → BOS (Boston)3,71070%24 min
DFW → SAN (San Diego)3,66964%26 min
DFW → EWR (Newark)3,60570%27 min
DFW → XNA (Fayetteville)3,54678%17 min
DFW → BNA (Nashville)3,53667%26 min
DFW → DTW (Detroit)3,49076%19 min
DFW → PHL (Philadelphia)3,47071%23 min
DFW → DCA (Washington)3,29974%18 min
DFW → MSP (Minneapolis)3,29375%20 min
DFW → OKC (Oklahoma City)3,16972%21 min
DFW → SGF (Springfield)3,09180%12 min
DFW → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)3,05071%21 min
DFW → SNA (Santa Ana)2,93678%15 min
DFW → MAF (Midland/Odessa)2,92379%15 min
DFW → TPA (Tampa)2,90769%22 min
DFW → MSY (New Orleans)2,80468%25 min
DFW → TUL (Tulsa)2,78173%21 min
DFW → LIT (Little Rock)2,66476%19 min
DFW → LBB (Lubbock)2,62278%17 min
DFW → ELP (El Paso)2,57268%25 min
DFW → MCI (Kansas City)2,52869%24 min
DFW → CRP (Corpus Christi)2,51281%13 min
DFW → ICT (Wichita)2,42774%23 min
DFW → MFE (Mission/McAllen/Edinburg)2,41871%24 min
DFW → STL (St. Louis)2,38270%23 min
DFW → PDX (Portland)2,38067%23 min
DFW → AMA (Amarillo)2,36580%13 min
DFW → MEM (Memphis)2,35169%22 min
DFW → ONT (Ontario)2,29669%22 min
DFW → ABQ (Albuquerque)2,27569%23 min
DFW → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)2,26570%22 min
DFW → BHM (Birmingham)2,19974%22 min
DFW → TUS (Tucson)2,19070%24 min
DFW → SHV (Shreveport)2,12576%20 min

Compare airlines departing DFW ↓

Where flights into DFW come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago) → DFW6,99772%25 min
LGA (New York) → DFW6,70073%24 min
ATL (Atlanta) → DFW6,68972%24 min
LAX (Los Angeles) → DFW6,22576%21 min
DEN (Denver) → DFW6,03674%22 min
IAH (Houston) → DFW5,80474%26 min
SEA (Seattle) → DFW5,22975%18 min
PHX (Phoenix) → DFW5,22580%16 min

Most reliable routes

  1. DFW → BMI84%
  2. DFW → FAR83%
  3. DFW → HRL83%
  4. DFW → CMI83%
  5. DFW → FSM83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. DFW → ALB46%
  2. DFW → SYR53%
  3. DFW → BFL54%
  4. DFW → MDT54%
  5. DFW → HDN56%

What causes delays at DFW

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft46%
  • Airline operations31%
  • National airspace system14%
  • Weather8%

Alternative airports near Dallas/Fort Worth

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
DAL — Dallas Love Field12 mi72%17 min
ACT — Waco Regional Airport90 mi81%18 min
TYR — Tyler Pounds Regional Airport102 mi80%18 min
SPS — Wichita Falls Municipal Airport / Sheppard Air Force Base113 mi83%22 min

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

Airline performance at DFW

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Envoy Air83%10 min138,469
United Airlines80%20 min19,791
Delta Air Lines80%19 min25,018
SkyWest Airlines78%18 min55,200
Spirit Airlines75%18 min13,424
PSA Airlines74%26 min36,093
Frontier Airlines74%22 min20,758
Alaska Airlines72%18 min5,056
American Airlines65%27 min345,004
JetBlue Airways63%41 min795

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at DFW?
28% of departures from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 21 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from DFW?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 89% of the time at DFW, versus 55% around 11 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at DFW?
In this dataset, June 2026 was the weakest month at DFW, with 62% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at DFW?
2.6% of scheduled departures from DFW were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 659,707 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.