FlightRecord

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 88% on-time in September 2024 but sank to 68% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 80% against a national 78%, over roughly 339 departures a day to 109 destinations.

Departures on-time
80%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
80%
Cancelled
1.4%
Destinations
109
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from DTW

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
91% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
81% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Endeavor Air
89% on-time from DTW
Cancellation risk
1.4%
below the US average
Check routes from DTW ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at DTW50%75%100%June 2024: 77% on-time (11,408 flights)77Jun 2024July 2024: 74% on-time (11,751 flights)74August 2024: 77% on-time (11,834 flights)77September 2024: 88% on-time (11,165 flights)88Sep 2024October 2024: 88% on-time (11,731 flights)88November 2024: 87% on-time (10,986 flights)87December 2024: 78% on-time (11,098 flights)78Dec 2024January 2025: 79% on-time (9,253 flights)79February 2025: 79% on-time (8,580 flights)79March 2025: 82% on-time (10,369 flights)82Mar 2025April 2025: 84% on-time (10,058 flights)84May 2025: 82% on-time (10,554 flights)82June 2025: 76% on-time (10,770 flights)76Jun 2025July 2025: 74% on-time (11,248 flights)74August 2025: 82% on-time (10,916 flights)82September 2025: 88% on-time (10,014 flights)88Sep 2025October 2025: 87% on-time (10,950 flights)87November 2025: 82% on-time (9,887 flights)82December 2025: 68% on-time (9,934 flights)68Dec 2025January 2026: 71% on-time (9,518 flights)71February 2026: 78% on-time (9,122 flights)78March 2026: 73% on-time (10,701 flights)73Mar 2026April 2026: 84% on-time (10,417 flights)84May 2026: 81% on-time (10,112 flights)81

Best time of day to depart from DTW

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at DTW5 a.m.: 91% on-time (4,434 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (9,618 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (17,217 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (29,959 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (6,179 flights)910 a.m.: 84% on-time (25,761 flights)1011 a.m.: 84% on-time (4,838 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (22,242 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (5,915 flights)132 p.m.: 78% on-time (15,480 flights)143 p.m.: 76% on-time (15,009 flights)154 p.m.: 76% on-time (21,889 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (11,272 flights)176 p.m.: 72% on-time (10,180 flights)187 p.m.: 71% on-time (10,635 flights)198 p.m.: 71% on-time (17,571 flights)209 p.m.: 76% on-time (20,825 flights)2110 p.m.: 70% on-time (3,187 flights)2211 p.m.: 59% on-time (163 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday77%19 min
Tuesdaybest81%15 min
Wednesday81%15 min
Thursday78%17 min
Friday76%19 min
Saturday80%14 min
Sunday75%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from DTW ↓

Busiest routes from DTW

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
DTW → ORD (Chicago)5,96176%21 min
DTW → ATL (Atlanta)4,93479%16 min
DTW → LGA (New York)4,06078%17 min
DTW → MCO (Orlando)3,77176%19 min
DTW → EWR (Newark)3,73375%22 min
DTW → CLT (Charlotte)3,58184%15 min
DTW → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)3,55375%20 min
DTW → DEN (Denver)3,08379%14 min
DTW → DCA (Washington)2,97372%23 min
DTW → PHL (Philadelphia)2,95379%18 min
DTW → LAS (Las Vegas)2,94779%13 min
DTW → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)2,80075%18 min
DTW → BOS (Boston)2,61776%18 min
DTW → LAX (Los Angeles)2,60280%13 min
DTW → PHX (Phoenix)2,44279%18 min
DTW → BNA (Nashville)2,42081%12 min
DTW → TPA (Tampa)2,41379%14 min
DTW → BWI (Baltimore)2,27382%13 min
DTW → IAH (Houston)2,13679%15 min
DTW → SEA (Seattle)2,08578%13 min
DTW → MSP (Minneapolis)1,93980%14 min
DTW → STL (St. Louis)1,90881%13 min
DTW → RSW (Fort Myers)1,84677%16 min
DTW → MIA (Miami)1,83278%15 min
DTW → SFO (San Francisco)1,80375%18 min
DTW → SLC (Salt Lake City)1,57682%11 min
DTW → GRR (Grand Rapids)1,57475%23 min
DTW → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)1,56784%11 min
DTW → MKE (Milwaukee)1,52678%18 min
DTW → MDW (Chicago)1,38879%14 min
DTW → MCI (Kansas City)1,36184%13 min
DTW → CMH (Columbus)1,35883%16 min
DTW → AUS (Austin)1,34677%14 min
DTW → SAN (San Diego)1,33376%15 min
DTW → BDL (Hartford)1,31783%12 min
DTW → SDF (Louisville)1,23880%15 min
DTW → JFK (New York)1,21880%17 min
DTW → OMA (Omaha)1,14175%21 min
DTW → ALB (Albany)1,11477%19 min
DTW → IAD (Washington)1,11175%23 min
DTW → MEM (Memphis)1,08280%16 min
DTW → TVC (Traverse City)1,07877%19 min
DTW → ATW (Appleton)1,06177%22 min
DTW → MBS (Saginaw/Bay City/Midland)1,06079%19 min
DTW → PIT (Pittsburgh)1,03679%17 min
DTW → BUF (Buffalo)1,00677%21 min
DTW → AZO (Kalamazoo)97076%26 min
DTW → SAT (San Antonio)96180%13 min
DTW → CLE (Cleveland)94777%20 min
DTW → MSN (Madison)93577%18 min

Compare airlines departing DTW ↓

Where flights into DTW come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago) → DTW5,96176%20 min
ATL (Atlanta) → DTW4,92177%16 min
LGA (New York) → DTW4,06079%18 min
MCO (Orlando) → DTW3,76775%19 min
EWR (Newark) → DTW3,75178%21 min
CLT (Charlotte) → DTW3,58081%15 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → DTW3,55076%19 min
DEN (Denver) → DTW3,08178%14 min

Most reliable routes

  1. DTW → MYR86%
  2. DTW → RDU84%
  3. DTW → CLT84%
  4. DTW → MCI84%
  5. DTW → BDL83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. DTW → ANC66%
  2. DTW → SBN66%
  3. DTW → BHM71%
  4. DTW → PDX71%
  5. DTW → SRQ71%

What causes delays at DTW

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft19%
  • Airline operations52%
  • National airspace system22%
  • Weather7%

Alternative airports near Detroit

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
FNT — Bishop International Airport56 mi77%24 min
LAN — Capital Region International Airport74 mi78%25 min
CLE — Cleveland Hopkins International Airport95 mi82%15 min
MBS — MBS International Airport98 mi78%24 min
AZO — Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airport112 mi81%21 min

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

Airline performance at DTW

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Endeavor Air89%9 min7,178
Republic Airways87%12 min11,528
United Airlines86%14 min4,765
American Airlines83%19 min10,898
Envoy Air81%14 min1,994
JetBlue Airways81%18 min1,952
PSA Airlines81%25 min3,117
Delta Air Lines80%15 min118,947
Spirit Airlines79%15 min20,434
Southwest Airlines79%12 min8,533
SkyWest Airlines77%22 min56,919
Alaska Airlines76%12 min1,063
Frontier Airlines73%24 min5,048

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at DTW?
20% of departures from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 16 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from DTW?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 91% of the time at DTW, versus 59% around 11 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at DTW?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at DTW, with 68% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at DTW?
1.4% of scheduled departures from DTW were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 252,376 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.