FlightRecord

General Mitchell International Airport (MKE): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

General Mitchell International Airport (MKE) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 89% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 73% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 81% against a national 78%, over roughly 79 departures a day to 39 destinations.

Departures on-time
81%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
1.7%
Destinations
39
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from MKE

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
83% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
87% on-time from MKE
Cancellation risk
1.7%
close to the US average
Check routes from MKE ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MKE50%75%100%June 2024: 81% on-time (2,443 flights)81Jun 2024July 2024: 76% on-time (2,613 flights)76August 2024: 83% on-time (2,598 flights)83September 2024: 88% on-time (2,396 flights)88Sep 2024October 2024: 89% on-time (2,566 flights)89November 2024: 87% on-time (2,215 flights)87December 2024: 80% on-time (2,205 flights)80Dec 2024January 2025: 85% on-time (1,929 flights)85February 2025: 83% on-time (1,797 flights)83March 2025: 83% on-time (2,317 flights)83Mar 2025April 2025: 85% on-time (2,316 flights)85May 2025: 81% on-time (2,359 flights)81June 2025: 77% on-time (2,482 flights)77Jun 2025July 2025: 76% on-time (2,589 flights)76August 2025: 79% on-time (2,498 flights)79September 2025: 85% on-time (2,315 flights)85Sep 2025October 2025: 82% on-time (2,564 flights)82November 2025: 82% on-time (2,230 flights)82December 2025: 73% on-time (2,273 flights)73Dec 2025January 2026: 78% on-time (2,077 flights)78February 2026: 83% on-time (2,033 flights)83March 2026: 74% on-time (2,626 flights)74Mar 2026April 2026: 83% on-time (2,588 flights)83May 2026: 82% on-time (2,735 flights)82

Best time of day to depart from MKE

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MKE5 a.m.: 94% on-time (4,199 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (7,201 flights)67 a.m.: 88% on-time (5,312 flights)78 a.m.: 84% on-time (3,001 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (2,198 flights)910 a.m.: 87% on-time (3,872 flights)1011 a.m.: 80% on-time (3,372 flights)1112 p.m.: 80% on-time (3,873 flights)121 p.m.: 81% on-time (2,811 flights)132 p.m.: 78% on-time (3,778 flights)143 p.m.: 76% on-time (3,293 flights)154 p.m.: 73% on-time (3,243 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (4,517 flights)176 p.m.: 68% on-time (3,463 flights)187 p.m.: 68% on-time (1,845 flights)198 p.m.: 65% on-time (602 flights)209 p.m.: 72% on-time (148 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday79%19 min
Tuesdaybest83%15 min
Wednesday81%15 min
Thursday80%16 min
Friday79%17 min
Saturday81%15 min
Sunday77%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from MKE ↓

Busiest routes from MKE

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MKE → ORD (Chicago)5,16670%28 min
MKE → DEN (Denver)2,34081%14 min
MKE → ATL (Atlanta)2,26288%11 min
MKE → DTW (Detroit)1,52682%19 min
MKE → PHX (Phoenix)1,48982%15 min
MKE → MSP (Minneapolis)1,48482%16 min
MKE → MCO (Orlando)1,39980%14 min
MKE → DCA (Washington)1,34978%21 min
MKE → LAS (Las Vegas)1,09383%11 min
MKE → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,08374%26 min
MKE → BNA (Nashville)97984%9 min
MKE → CLT (Charlotte)96677%25 min
MKE → BWI (Baltimore)83685%10 min
MKE → EWR (Newark)81879%18 min
MKE → LGA (New York)78283%16 min
MKE → BOS (Boston)74374%19 min
MKE → STL (St. Louis)68389%7 min
MKE → SEA (Seattle)51083%8 min
MKE → TPA (Tampa)47983%12 min
MKE → RSW (Fort Myers)43681%12 min
MKE → DAL (Dallas)40880%12 min
MKE → PHL (Philadelphia)38779%22 min
MKE → SLC (Salt Lake City)36387%12 min
MKE → MCI (Kansas City)35087%8 min
MKE → AUS (Austin)28884%10 min
MKE → IAH (Houston)21379%15 min
MKE → MDW (Chicago)17671%17 min
MKE → SAN (San Diego)14270%14 min
MKE → MIA (Miami)13178%12 min

Compare airlines departing MKE ↓

Where flights into MKE come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago) → MKE5,16767%30 min
DEN (Denver) → MKE2,33575%17 min
ATL (Atlanta) → MKE2,26283%10 min
DTW (Detroit) → MKE1,52678%18 min
PHX (Phoenix) → MKE1,48576%14 min
MSP (Minneapolis) → MKE1,48482%14 min
MCO (Orlando) → MKE1,39976%15 min
DCA (Washington) → MKE1,34977%17 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MKE → STL89%
  2. MKE → ATL88%
  3. MKE → SLC87%
  4. MKE → MCI87%
  5. MKE → BWI85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MKE → SAN70%
  2. MKE → ORD70%
  3. MKE → MDW71%
  4. MKE → BOS74%
  5. MKE → DFW74%

What causes delays at MKE

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft30%
  • Airline operations42%
  • National airspace system21%
  • Weather6%

Alternative airports near Milwaukee

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
ORD — Chicago O'Hare International Airport67 mi75%20 min
MSN — Dane County Regional Truax Field74 mi83%17 min
RFD — Chicago Rockford International Airport80 mi74%28 min
MDW — Chicago Midway International Airport81 mi75%15 min
ATW — Appleton International Airport96 mi81%20 min

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

Airline performance at MKE

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines87%12 min8,078
Spirit Airlines87%11 min1,039
Alaska Airlines85%7 min966
Endeavor Air84%15 min464
Southwest Airlines82%11 min19,325
Envoy Air82%14 min330
Republic Airways81%16 min4,273
PSA Airlines79%27 min2,162
SkyWest Airlines78%22 min12,550
American Airlines78%26 min5,087
United Airlines78%17 min1,351
Frontier Airlines75%22 min660
JetBlue Airways67%28 min479

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MKE?
19% of departures from General Mitchell 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 MKE?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at MKE, versus 65% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MKE?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at MKE, with 73% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MKE?
1.7% of scheduled departures from MKE were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 56,764 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.