Airline reliability
Delta Air Lines on-time performance
Reliability of Delta Air Lines flights across 152 airports and 962 routes, September 2025 to August 2026.
152 airports962 routes
- On time
- 79.5% Rank 2 of 14 airlines
- Cancelled
- 1.7% All airlines 1.9%
- 60+ minutes late
- 6.6% All airlines 8.1%
- Scheduled flights
- 1,039,517 12 months
What this means
Delta Air Lines ranked 2 of 14 on on-time arrival.
- Delta Air Lines reported 1,039,517 scheduled flights over the 12 months to August 2026. 79.5% arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, 3.9 points higher than the average for all reporting airlines (75.6%).
- 1.7% of its flights were cancelled (all-airline average 1.9%) and 6.6% arrived an hour or more late.
- Its most punctual busy route was Kahului (OGG) to Seattle (SEA) (94.2% on time); its least punctual was San Antonio (SAT) to Boston (BOS) (58.0%).
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month for Delta Air Lines (87.8% on time) and July the least reliable (70.3%).
- Cancellations peaked in July, when 3.4% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart before 6 am were the most punctual (90.4% on time); flights scheduled to depart 7 pm to 8 pm were the least (70.1%).
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time All airlines 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 87.4% | 84,875 |
| Oct 2025 | 83.6% | 90,097 |
| Nov 2025 | 80.8% | 84,475 |
| Dec 2025 | 72.3% | 85,139 |
| Jan 2026 | 76.9% | 79,198 |
| Feb 2026 | 81.4% | 74,200 |
| Mar 2026 | 76.8% | 86,890 |
| Apr 2026 | 84.1% | 87,115 |
| May 2026 | 81.0% | 91,955 |
| Jun 2026 | 81.1% | 90,247 |
| Jul 2026 | 71.9% | 94,140 |
| Aug 2026 | 77.3% | 91,186 |
Best and worst months for Delta Air Lines
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 79.5%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78.5% | 229,888 |
| February | 83.2% | 216,751 |
| March | 80.3% | 254,045 |
| April | 83.3% | 254,115 |
| May | 79.0% | 270,267 |
| June | 77.7% | 270,434 |
| July | 70.3% | 280,502 |
| August | 79.8% | 271,896 |
| September | 86.5% | 251,121 |
| October | 87.8% | 263,764 |
| November | 86.8% | 246,653 |
| December | 80.7% | 249,444 |
On-time rate by departure hour
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 90.4% | 29,609 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 89.4% | 68,817 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 86.0% | 92,223 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 85.3% | 65,026 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 84.3% | 56,838 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 83.3% | 57,873 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 81.0% | 76,935 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 80.4% | 61,603 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 79.6% | 59,491 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 77.2% | 54,379 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 74.2% | 67,981 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 73.0% | 51,079 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 73.5% | 64,726 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 72.2% | 59,278 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 70.1% | 55,229 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 70.2% | 36,550 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 75.9% | 35,779 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 78.8% | 32,178 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | 79.5% | 13,923 |
Most punctual Delta Air Lines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kahului (OGG) to Seattle (SEA) | 94.2% | 1.1% | 0.8% | 365 |
| Pasco/Kennewick/Richland (PSC) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | 94.0% | 0.6% | 3.4% | 349 |
| Billings (BIL) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | 93.7% | 0.3% | 2.7% | 365 |
| San Jose (SJC) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | 92.5% | 0.5% | 3.0% | 924 |
| Bozeman (BZN) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | 92.1% | 0.3% | 2.9% | 659 |
| Spokane (GEG) to Seattle (SEA) | 91.8% | 1.5% | 3.5% | 343 |
| Sacramento (SMF) to Minneapolis (MSP) | 91.7% | 0.7% | 2.9% | 593 |
| San Jose (SJC) to Atlanta (ATL) | 91.4% | 1.2% | 2.1% | 898 |
| Sacramento (SMF) to Atlanta (ATL) | 91.3% | 1.4% | 2.7% | 1,007 |
| Burbank (BUR) to Salt Lake City (SLC) | 91.3% | 0.7% | 3.8% | 423 |
Least punctual Delta Air Lines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio (SAT) to Boston (BOS) | 58.0% | 2.2% | 19.9% | 357 |
| Seattle (SEA) to San Francisco (SFO) | 59.5% | 1.7% | 10.3% | 985 |
| Los Angeles (LAX) to San Francisco (SFO) | 59.9% | 1.6% | 11.1% | 2,373 |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) to San Francisco (SFO) | 60.9% | 0.9% | 9.6% | 1,712 |
| Boston (BOS) to Chicago (ORD) | 61.1% | 3.5% | 15.5% | 981 |
| Charleston (CHS) to New York (LGA) | 61.5% | 5.6% | 18.0% | 395 |
| New Orleans (MSY) to Boston (BOS) | 61.6% | 2.2% | 16.7% | 372 |
| New York (LGA) to Chicago (ORD) | 61.6% | 5.9% | 16.9% | 2,309 |
| Miami (MIA) to Seattle (SEA) | 62.0% | 1.6% | 11.2% | 366 |
| Nashville (BNA) to New York (LGA) | 62.2% | 4.9% | 17.1% | 450 |
Routes with the most Delta Air Lines cancellations
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York (JFK) to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | 63.5% | 6.4% | 14.5% | 373 |
| Kansas City (MCI) to New York (LGA) | 72.8% | 6.3% | 9.3% | 972 |
| Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) to New York (JFK) | 83.9% | 6.2% | 4.0% | 373 |
| Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ) to New York (LGA) | 67.8% | 6.0% | 12.8% | 531 |
| New York (LGA) to Kansas City (MCI) | 65.6% | 6.0% | 12.3% | 972 |
| New York (LGA) to Chicago (ORD) | 61.6% | 5.9% | 16.9% | 2,309 |
| Chicago (ORD) to New York (LGA) | 63.8% | 5.9% | 14.9% | 2,309 |
| New York (LGA) to Sarasota/Bradenton (SRQ) | 75.7% | 5.8% | 7.9% | 531 |
| New Orleans (MSY) to New York (JFK) | 75.0% | 5.8% | 5.8% | 720 |
| Charleston (CHS) to New York (LGA) | 61.5% | 5.6% | 18.0% | 395 |
Busiest Delta Air Lines routes
| Route | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) to Orlando (MCO) | 69.3% | 1.3% | 10.8% | 5,534 |
| Orlando (MCO) to Atlanta (ATL) | 77.1% | 1.4% | 9.9% | 5,531 |
| Atlanta (ATL) to New York (LGA) | 72.7% | 3.5% | 8.5% | 4,937 |
| New York (LGA) to Atlanta (ATL) | 76.2% | 3.5% | 7.6% | 4,935 |
| Atlanta (ATL) to Tampa (TPA) | 73.1% | 1.3% | 8.5% | 4,452 |
| Tampa (TPA) to Atlanta (ATL) | 80.2% | 1.4% | 7.6% | 4,451 |
| Atlanta (ATL) to Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 72.4% | 1.8% | 8.1% | 4,383 |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) to Atlanta (ATL) | 76.9% | 1.9% | 8.4% | 4,379 |
| Atlanta (ATL) to Washington (DCA) | 64.8% | 2.4% | 9.9% | 3,850 |
| Washington (DCA) to Atlanta (ATL) | 76.9% | 2.5% | 8.4% | 3,850 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Scheduled nonstop domestic flights operated by Delta Air Lines (DL).
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.