FlightRecord

Kansas City International Airport (MCI): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Kansas City International Airport (MCI) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 90% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 74% in June 2025. Across the year it averages 81% against a national 78%, over roughly 134 departures a day to 61 destinations.

Departures on-time
81%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 min
Arrivals on-time
78%
Cancelled
1.5%
Destinations
61
nonstop
Airlines
14

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MCI50%75%100%June 2024: 79% on-time (4,450 flights)79Jun 2024July 2024: 75% on-time (4,593 flights)75August 2024: 83% on-time (4,371 flights)83September 2024: 89% on-time (4,141 flights)89Sep 2024October 2024: 90% on-time (4,419 flights)90November 2024: 88% on-time (4,046 flights)88December 2024: 82% on-time (3,962 flights)82Dec 2024January 2025: 84% on-time (3,481 flights)84February 2025: 82% on-time (3,365 flights)82March 2025: 83% on-time (4,033 flights)83Mar 2025April 2025: 84% on-time (3,969 flights)84May 2025: 80% on-time (4,363 flights)80June 2025: 74% on-time (4,395 flights)74Jun 2025July 2025: 76% on-time (4,442 flights)76August 2025: 81% on-time (4,113 flights)81September 2025: 84% on-time (3,928 flights)84Sep 2025October 2025: 82% on-time (4,214 flights)82November 2025: 82% on-time (3,956 flights)82December 2025: 74% on-time (3,969 flights)74Dec 2025January 2026: 84% on-time (3,508 flights)84February 2026: 82% on-time (3,503 flights)82March 2026: 76% on-time (4,227 flights)76Mar 2026April 2026: 81% on-time (4,184 flights)81May 2026: 77% on-time (4,354 flights)77

Best time of day to depart from MCI

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MCI5 a.m.: 92% on-time (7,083 flights)56 a.m.: 94% on-time (11,268 flights)67 a.m.: 93% on-time (6,621 flights)78 a.m.: 91% on-time (3,943 flights)89 a.m.: 87% on-time (3,957 flights)910 a.m.: 87% on-time (6,357 flights)1011 a.m.: 84% on-time (5,828 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (5,419 flights)121 p.m.: 80% on-time (5,571 flights)132 p.m.: 77% on-time (6,985 flights)143 p.m.: 76% on-time (7,029 flights)154 p.m.: 72% on-time (5,840 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (7,811 flights)176 p.m.: 70% on-time (6,610 flights)187 p.m.: 66% on-time (4,508 flights)198 p.m.: 60% on-time (1,718 flights)209 p.m.: 66% on-time (1,185 flights)2110 p.m.: 56% on-time (245 flights)22scheduled departure hour

Busiest routes from MCI

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MCI → DEN4,23377%16 min
MCI → ORD4,11879%20 min
MCI → ATL3,29087%11 min
MCI → DFW2,54575%24 min
MCI → PHX2,46882%14 min
MCI → MDW2,09783%10 min
MCI → DAL2,03383%12 min
MCI → LAS1,98682%11 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MCI → DTW89%
  2. MCI → PDX88%
  3. MCI → SLC88%
  4. MCI → STL88%
  5. MCI → ATL87%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MCI → OAK68%
  2. MCI → SMF73%
  3. MCI → DFW75%
  4. MCI → FLL76%
  5. MCI → DCA77%

Airline performance at MCI

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Alaska Airlines88%9 min1,749
Delta Air Lines88%13 min15,718
United Airlines87%12 min6,878
Republic Airways86%14 min3,312
SkyWest Airlines82%19 min3,209
Envoy Air82%13 min3,042
Endeavor Air81%20 min636
Spirit Airlines79%19 min2,580
American Airlines79%23 min10,805
Southwest Airlines79%13 min47,077
PSA Airlines76%30 min1,695
Frontier Airlines72%25 min759
Allegiant Air71%24 min514

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MCI?
19% of departures from Kansas City International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 15 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from MCI?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at MCI, versus 56% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MCI?
In this dataset, June 2025 was the weakest month at MCI, with 74% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MCI?
1.5% of scheduled departures from MCI were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Based on 97,986 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.