Philadelphia International Airport (PHL): Delays & On-Time Performance
Data through May 2026
Philadelphia International Airport (PHL) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 87% on-time in November 2024 but sank to 66% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 77% against a national 78%, over roughly 271 departures a day to 97 destinations.
- Departures on-time
- 77%
- left <15 min late
- Avg dep delay
- 20 min
- Arrivals on-time
- 76%
- Cancelled
- 2.4%
- Destinations
- 97
- nonstop
- Airlines
- 13
Monthly on-time trend
Best time of day to depart from PHL
Busiest routes from PHL
| Route | Flights/12mo | On-time | Avg delay |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHL → ATL | 5,685 | 77% | 18 min |
| PHL → MCO | 5,347 | 73% | 22 min |
| PHL → BOS | 4,909 | 76% | 19 min |
| PHL → ORD | 4,812 | 75% | 24 min |
| PHL → CLT | 3,513 | 78% | 20 min |
| PHL → DFW | 3,385 | 76% | 22 min |
| PHL → FLL | 3,291 | 73% | 22 min |
| PHL → MIA | 3,100 | 76% | 20 min |
Airline performance at PHL
| Airline | On-time departures | Avg delay | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Airways | 86% | 11 min | 15,345 |
| United Airlines | 86% | 14 min | 8,277 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82% | 16 min | 12,582 |
| PSA Airlines | 77% | 22 min | 30,302 |
| JetBlue Airways | 77% | 18 min | 2,620 |
| American Airlines | 76% | 20 min | 92,075 |
| Alaska Airlines | 75% | 14 min | 1,314 |
| Spirit Airlines | 74% | 20 min | 7,046 |
| Southwest Airlines | 73% | 17 min | 10,030 |
| Frontier Airlines | 72% | 26 min | 20,154 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 69% | 38 min | 205 |
Frequently asked questions
- How often are flights delayed at PHL?
- 23% of departures from Philadelphia International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 20 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
- What is the best time of day to depart from PHL?
- Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 90% of the time at PHL, versus 61% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
- What is the worst month for delays at PHL?
- In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at PHL, with 66% of departures on time.
- How often are flights cancelled at PHL?
- 2.4% of scheduled departures from PHL were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.
Popular route pages from this airport
Based on 200,006 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.