US Flight Delays in January 2026
By Sharon Ben-Moshe · US DOT data · last updated 2026-07-01
In January 2026, US airlines operated 544,003 domestic flights and 79% arrived on time, up 5.9 points from December 2025. Southwest Airlines led the reporting carriers at 85% on time; JetBlue Airways trailed at 68%.
- Flights
- 544,003
- On-time
- 79%
- arrived <15 min late
- Avg delay
- 17 min
- Cancelled
- 4.7%
- vs Dec 2025
- +5.9 pts
- on-time change
Airline on-time rates in January 2026
Reporting carriers with at least 1,000 flights in the month.
| Airline | On-time | vs prior month | Avg delay | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 85% | +9.3 pts | 8 min | 104,002 |
| United Airlines | 82% | +4.8 pts | 13 min | 63,781 |
| Delta Air Lines | 80% | +5.8 pts | 15 min | 79,198 |
| Envoy Air | 80% | +3.2 pts | 15 min | 24,155 |
| Republic Airways | 80% | +10.3 pts | 15 min | 29,572 |
| Alaska Airlines | 79% | +7.0 pts | 13 min | 26,436 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 77% | +4.0 pts | 24 min | 66,168 |
| American Airlines | 76% | +2.3 pts | 24 min | 76,772 |
| Allegiant Air | 76% | +7.0 pts | 22 min | 8,963 |
| PSA Airlines | 76% | +11.3 pts | 25 min | 19,550 |
| Frontier Airlines | 72% | +3.4 pts | 24 min | 15,382 |
| Spirit Airlines | 72% | +5.6 pts | 20 min | 11,915 |
| JetBlue Airways | 68% | +4.5 pts | 25 min | 18,109 |
Most delayed large airports
Most reliable large airports
Most delay-prone routes in January 2026
Routes with at least 60 flights in the month.
National figures are flight-weighted averages across all reporting carriers for the month; see the methodology for definitions and limitations.
More reports
Based on 544,003 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.