FlightRecord

McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

McGhee Tyson Airport (TYS) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 89% on-time in November 2024 but sank to 70% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 80% against a national 78%, over roughly 37 departures a day to 41 destinations.

Departures on-time
80%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
20 min
Arrivals on-time
74%
Cancelled
2.0%
Destinations
41
nonstop
Airlines
11

Plan your departure from TYS

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 TYS
Cancellation risk
2.0%
above the US average
Check routes from TYS ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at TYS50%75%100%August 2024: 83% on-time (1,477 flights)83Aug 2024September 2024: 85% on-time (1,406 flights)85October 2024: 88% on-time (1,691 flights)88November 2024: 89% on-time (1,406 flights)89Nov 2024December 2024: 80% on-time (1,388 flights)80January 2025: 80% on-time (962 flights)80February 2025: 79% on-time (912 flights)79Feb 2025March 2025: 81% on-time (1,170 flights)81April 2025: 82% on-time (1,057 flights)82May 2025: 77% on-time (1,131 flights)77May 2025June 2025: 72% on-time (1,227 flights)72July 2025: 72% on-time (1,243 flights)72August 2025: 79% on-time (1,174 flights)79Aug 2025September 2025: 82% on-time (1,097 flights)82October 2025: 77% on-time (1,277 flights)77November 2025: 78% on-time (1,048 flights)78Nov 2025December 2025: 70% on-time (969 flights)70January 2026: 78% on-time (921 flights)78February 2026: 81% on-time (816 flights)81Feb 2026March 2026: 78% on-time (1,119 flights)78April 2026: 86% on-time (1,152 flights)86May 2026: 81% on-time (1,308 flights)81May 2026June 2026: 74% on-time (1,328 flights)74July 2026: 73% on-time (1,352 flights)73

Best time of day to depart from TYS

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at TYS5 a.m.: 91% on-time (1,693 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (2,728 flights)67 a.m.: 88% on-time (3,387 flights)78 a.m.: 89% on-time (2,018 flights)89 a.m.: 91% on-time (1,002 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (1,668 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (1,910 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (2,298 flights)121 p.m.: 77% on-time (1,493 flights)132 p.m.: 78% on-time (1,757 flights)143 p.m.: 70% on-time (1,016 flights)154 p.m.: 76% on-time (2,611 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (2,643 flights)176 p.m.: 63% on-time (1,854 flights)187 p.m.: 61% on-time (1,088 flights)198 p.m.: 67% on-time (524 flights)209 p.m.: 49% on-time (345 flights)2110 p.m.: 54% on-time (141 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday77%23 min
Tuesdaybest81%16 min
Wednesday81%16 min
Thursday80%19 min
Friday77%22 min
Saturday79%22 min
Sunday75%23 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from TYS ↓

Busiest routes from TYS

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
TYS → ORD (Chicago)2,18874%26 min
TYS → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,73877%25 min
TYS → ATL (Atlanta)1,71987%11 min
TYS → DCA (Washington)1,02171%31 min
TYS → DEN (Denver)1,00184%13 min
TYS → CLT (Charlotte)89478%24 min
TYS → SFB (Sanford)63969%27 min
TYS → PIE (St. Petersburg)52274%24 min
TYS → MIA (Miami)48781%19 min
TYS → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)48164%30 min
TYS → PHL (Philadelphia)34282%17 min
TYS → BNA (Nashville)29781%9 min
TYS → MCO (Orlando)26478%16 min
TYS → PGD (Punta Gorda)21771%24 min
TYS → DAL (Dallas)14979%15 min
TYS → BWI (Baltimore)14893%6 min
TYS → BOS (Boston)14789%6 min
TYS → EWR (Newark)14688%9 min
TYS → LGA (New York)13982%16 min
TYS → PHX (Phoenix)12280%15 min
TYS → VPS (Valparaiso)12181%16 min
TYS → LAS (Las Vegas)11879%18 min
TYS → SRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton)10681%23 min
TYS → JAX (Jacksonville)10580%13 min

Compare airlines departing TYS ↓

Where flights into TYS come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago) → TYS2,18871%27 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → TYS1,73969%25 min
ATL (Atlanta) → TYS1,71782%13 min
DCA (Washington) → TYS1,02168%31 min
DEN (Denver) → TYS1,00178%16 min
CLT (Charlotte) → TYS89272%21 min
SFB (Sanford) → TYS63965%28 min
PIE (St. Petersburg) → TYS52273%23 min

Most reliable routes

  1. TYS → BWI93%
  2. TYS → BOS89%
  3. TYS → EWR88%
  4. TYS → ATL87%
  5. TYS → DEN84%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. TYS → FLL64%
  2. TYS → SFB69%
  3. TYS → PGD71%
  4. TYS → DCA71%
  5. TYS → ORD74%

What causes delays at TYS

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft40%
  • Airline operations34%
  • National airspace system17%
  • Weather9%

Alternative airports near Knoxville

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
AVL — Asheville Regional Airport86 mi77%21 min
CHA — Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field)87 mi78%22 min
TRI — Tri-Cities Regional TN/VA Airport100 mi79%21 min
GSP — Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport118 mi81%16 min

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

Airline performance at TYS

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Endeavor Air89%10 min1,631
United Airlines87%11 min1,283
Delta Air Lines85%13 min3,360
Republic Airways84%14 min1,507
SkyWest Airlines82%20 min2,724
Envoy Air81%13 min1,622
Southwest Airlines77%13 min823
Allegiant Air77%21 min7,005
PSA Airlines77%26 min6,663
American Airlines73%30 min3,265
Frontier Airlines70%27 min298

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at TYS?
21% of departures from McGhee Tyson Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, 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 TYS?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 91% of the time at TYS, versus 49% around 9 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at TYS?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at TYS, with 70% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at TYS?
2% of scheduled departures from TYS were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 30,181 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.