FlightRecord

Memphis International Airport (MEM): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Memphis International Airport (MEM) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 89% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 72% in June 2025. Across the year it averages 81% against a national 78%, over roughly 68 departures a day to 33 destinations.

Departures on-time
81%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
1.9%
Destinations
33
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from MEM

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

Best departure time
Around 6 a.m.
93% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
84% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
87% on-time from MEM
Cancellation risk
1.9%
above the US average
Check routes from MEM ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MEM50%75%100%June 2024: 79% on-time (2,093 flights)79Jun 2024July 2024: 74% on-time (2,134 flights)74August 2024: 85% on-time (2,042 flights)85September 2024: 87% on-time (1,869 flights)87Sep 2024October 2024: 89% on-time (1,995 flights)89November 2024: 88% on-time (1,787 flights)88December 2024: 82% on-time (1,773 flights)82Dec 2024January 2025: 82% on-time (1,528 flights)82February 2025: 83% on-time (1,456 flights)83March 2025: 84% on-time (1,933 flights)84Mar 2025April 2025: 83% on-time (1,896 flights)83May 2025: 77% on-time (2,177 flights)77June 2025: 72% on-time (2,243 flights)72Jun 2025July 2025: 77% on-time (2,289 flights)77August 2025: 82% on-time (2,191 flights)82September 2025: 88% on-time (2,059 flights)88Sep 2025October 2025: 84% on-time (2,283 flights)84November 2025: 80% on-time (1,991 flights)80December 2025: 76% on-time (1,956 flights)76Dec 2025January 2026: 81% on-time (1,727 flights)81February 2026: 85% on-time (1,609 flights)85March 2026: 75% on-time (2,053 flights)75Mar 2026April 2026: 82% on-time (2,146 flights)82May 2026: 78% on-time (2,228 flights)78

Best time of day to depart from MEM

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MEM5 a.m.: 91% on-time (3,314 flights)56 a.m.: 93% on-time (6,903 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (5,538 flights)78 a.m.: 87% on-time (2,294 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (2,280 flights)910 a.m.: 82% on-time (3,217 flights)1011 a.m.: 80% on-time (2,897 flights)1112 p.m.: 80% on-time (2,867 flights)121 p.m.: 77% on-time (1,763 flights)132 p.m.: 77% on-time (2,495 flights)143 p.m.: 72% on-time (2,672 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (2,325 flights)165 p.m.: 70% on-time (3,162 flights)176 p.m.: 71% on-time (3,242 flights)187 p.m.: 67% on-time (1,566 flights)198 p.m.: 62% on-time (664 flights)209 p.m.: 72% on-time (197 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday80%17 min
Tuesdaybest84%14 min
Wednesday83%13 min
Thursday80%16 min
Friday79%18 min
Saturday82%16 min
Sunday77%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from MEM ↓

Busiest routes from MEM

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MEM → ATL (Atlanta)3,35287%12 min
MEM → ORD (Chicago)2,44377%18 min
MEM → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,42974%24 min
MEM → CLT (Charlotte)1,74681%16 min
MEM → DEN (Denver)1,30479%17 min
MEM → DCA (Washington)1,18178%19 min
MEM → IAH (Houston)1,09980%16 min
MEM → DTW (Detroit)1,08086%14 min
MEM → LGA (New York)99882%14 min
MEM → MSP (Minneapolis)89487%11 min
MEM → HOU (Houston)81281%11 min
MEM → MCO (Orlando)80181%14 min
MEM → PHL (Philadelphia)73581%18 min
MEM → MDW (Chicago)66184%12 min
MEM → LAS (Las Vegas)63881%15 min
MEM → MIA (Miami)57979%25 min
MEM → PHX (Phoenix)54082%20 min
MEM → EWR (Newark)46277%25 min
MEM → DAL (Dallas)45979%14 min
MEM → BNA (Nashville)45473%15 min
MEM → AUS (Austin)36591%9 min
MEM → SLC (Salt Lake City)36591%10 min
MEM → BOS (Boston)29292%9 min
MEM → BWI (Baltimore)28978%14 min
MEM → LAX (Los Angeles)25578%15 min
MEM → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)22163%41 min
MEM → PIE (St. Petersburg)10653%58 min
MEM → SFB (Sanford)10055%56 min

Compare airlines departing MEM ↓

Where flights into MEM come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → MEM3,35182%12 min
ORD (Chicago) → MEM2,43874%18 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → MEM2,42870%22 min
CLT (Charlotte) → MEM1,74474%18 min
DEN (Denver) → MEM1,30475%18 min
DCA (Washington) → MEM1,18275%18 min
IAH (Houston) → MEM1,10175%18 min
DTW (Detroit) → MEM1,08280%16 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MEM → BOS92%
  2. MEM → SLC91%
  3. MEM → AUS91%
  4. MEM → ATL87%
  5. MEM → MSP87%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MEM → PIE53%
  2. MEM → SFB55%
  3. MEM → FLL63%
  4. MEM → BNA73%
  5. MEM → DFW74%

What causes delays at MEM

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft38%
  • Airline operations36%
  • National airspace system20%
  • Weather6%

Airline performance at MEM

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines87%13 min8,822
Endeavor Air87%9 min716
United Airlines85%14 min2,942
Republic Airways84%14 min5,726
SkyWest Airlines80%18 min4,459
American Airlines80%21 min7,753
Spirit Airlines80%16 min1,492
Envoy Air80%14 min3,373
Southwest Airlines79%13 min7,831
PSA Airlines76%23 min2,977
Frontier Airlines71%24 min349
Allegiant Air62%41 min1,018

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MEM?
19% of departures from Memphis International 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 MEM?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 93% of the time at MEM, versus 62% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MEM?
In this dataset, June 2025 was the weakest month at MEM, with 72% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MEM?
1.9% of scheduled departures from MEM were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 47,458 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.