FlightRecord

Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Northwest Arkansas National Airport (XNA) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 92% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 72% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 82% against a national 78%, over roughly 39 departures a day to 27 destinations.

Departures on-time
82%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
18 min
Arrivals on-time
79%
Cancelled
1.7%
Destinations
27
nonstop
Airlines
10

Plan your departure from XNA

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

Best departure time
Around 6 a.m.
89% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
83% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
86% on-time from XNA
Cancellation risk
1.7%
close to the US average
Check routes from XNA ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at XNA50%75%100%August 2024: 84% on-time (1,239 flights)84Aug 2024September 2024: 88% on-time (1,232 flights)88October 2024: 92% on-time (1,298 flights)92November 2024: 87% on-time (1,263 flights)87Nov 2024December 2024: 82% on-time (1,289 flights)82January 2025: 82% on-time (933 flights)82February 2025: 81% on-time (878 flights)81Feb 2025March 2025: 82% on-time (1,083 flights)82April 2025: 77% on-time (1,040 flights)77May 2025: 75% on-time (1,080 flights)75May 2025June 2025: 72% on-time (1,158 flights)72July 2025: 77% on-time (1,174 flights)77August 2025: 82% on-time (1,044 flights)82Aug 2025September 2025: 82% on-time (1,039 flights)82October 2025: 86% on-time (1,154 flights)86November 2025: 86% on-time (1,094 flights)86Nov 2025December 2025: 82% on-time (1,103 flights)82January 2026: 85% on-time (1,077 flights)85February 2026: 86% on-time (1,006 flights)86Feb 2026March 2026: 80% on-time (1,222 flights)80April 2026: 86% on-time (1,214 flights)86May 2026: 82% on-time (1,319 flights)82May 2026June 2026: 74% on-time (1,344 flights)74July 2026: 79% on-time (1,462 flights)79

Best time of day to depart from XNA

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at XNA5 a.m.: 88% on-time (1,755 flights)56 a.m.: 89% on-time (2,995 flights)67 a.m.: 88% on-time (2,716 flights)78 a.m.: 86% on-time (2,166 flights)89 a.m.: 85% on-time (2,266 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (1,595 flights)1011 a.m.: 82% on-time (1,766 flights)1112 p.m.: 80% on-time (1,315 flights)121 p.m.: 83% on-time (1,229 flights)132 p.m.: 80% on-time (2,462 flights)143 p.m.: 76% on-time (1,508 flights)154 p.m.: 76% on-time (1,463 flights)165 p.m.: 77% on-time (2,526 flights)176 p.m.: 71% on-time (1,523 flights)187 p.m.: 66% on-time (886 flights)198 p.m.: 68% on-time (494 flights)209 p.m.: 65% on-time (208 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%21 min
Tuesdaybest83%13 min
Wednesday81%17 min
Thursday80%18 min
Friday80%20 min
Saturday80%19 min
Sunday77%21 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from XNA ↓

Busiest routes from XNA

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
XNA → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)3,54178%22 min
XNA → ORD (Chicago)1,84277%18 min
XNA → CLT (Charlotte)1,46281%18 min
XNA → DEN (Denver)1,31378%19 min
XNA → ATL (Atlanta)1,09984%15 min
XNA → LGA (New York)89779%17 min
XNA → PHX (Phoenix)82888%9 min
XNA → PHL (Philadelphia)47780%31 min
XNA → LAX (Los Angeles)44183%12 min
XNA → DCA (Washington)36590%5 min
XNA → SLC (Salt Lake City)36291%7 min
XNA → MIA (Miami)29488%7 min
XNA → VPS (Valparaiso)21870%31 min
XNA → MSP (Minneapolis)18279%16 min
XNA → IAH (Houston)17986%17 min
XNA → SFB (Sanford)13466%41 min
XNA → LAS (Las Vegas)11275%22 min

Compare airlines departing XNA ↓

Where flights into XNA come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → XNA3,54678%17 min
ORD (Chicago) → XNA1,84077%15 min
CLT (Charlotte) → XNA1,46177%19 min
DEN (Denver) → XNA1,31481%14 min
ATL (Atlanta) → XNA1,09880%19 min
LGA (New York) → XNA89676%16 min
PHX (Phoenix) → XNA82585%9 min
PHL (Philadelphia) → XNA47974%23 min

Most reliable routes

  1. XNA → SLC91%
  2. XNA → DCA90%
  3. XNA → MIA88%
  4. XNA → PHX88%
  5. XNA → IAH86%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. XNA → SFB66%
  2. XNA → VPS70%
  3. XNA → LAS75%
  4. XNA → ORD77%
  5. XNA → DFW78%

What causes delays at XNA

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft36%
  • Airline operations31%
  • National airspace system19%
  • Weather14%

Alternative airports near Fayetteville

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
JLN — Joplin Regional Airport61 mi79%29 min
FSM — Fort Smith Regional Airport65 mi85%13 min
SGF — Springfield Branson National Airport84 mi78%20 min
TUL — Tulsa International Airport88 mi83%15 min

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

Airline performance at XNA

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines86%13 min695
Endeavor Air86%13 min1,275
United Airlines85%14 min800
SkyWest Airlines84%15 min5,230
Republic Airways83%15 min2,029
Envoy Air83%15 min12,088
PSA Airlines79%26 min2,038
American Airlines76%29 min2,683
Frontier Airlines75%19 min323
Allegiant Air72%29 min1,797

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at XNA?
19% of departures from Northwest Arkansas National Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 18 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from XNA?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 89% of the time at XNA, versus 65% around 9 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at XNA?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at XNA, with 72% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at XNA?
1.7% of scheduled departures from XNA were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 28,958 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.