US flight delays report: January 2026
US airlines reported 544,003 scheduled domestic flights in January 2026. 79.2% arrived on time (up 6.0 pts from the previous month), and 4.7% were cancelled. Southwest Airlines was the most punctual airline (84.8%), and JetBlue the least (68.4%).
On-time arrivals
79%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
4.7%
25,635 flights
Avg arrival delay
17 min
76 min when late
1 hr+ late
7.6%
544,003 flights tracked
Airline rankings, January 2026
| # | Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southwest Airlines | 84.8% | 2.6% | 8 min | 104,002 |
| 2 | United Airlines | 82.0% | 2.4% | 13 min | 63,781 |
| 3 | Delta Air Lines | 80.2% | 3.9% | 15 min | 79,198 |
| 4 | Envoy Air | 79.8% | 4.9% | 15 min | 24,155 |
| 5 | Republic Airways | 79.6% | 8.2% | 15 min | 29,572 |
| 6 | Alaska Airlines | 79.0% | 2.0% | 13 min | 26,436 |
| 7 | SkyWest Airlines | 76.9% | 3.3% | 24 min | 66,168 |
| 8 | American Airlines | 76.0% | 8.9% | 24 min | 76,772 |
| 9 | Allegiant Air | 76.0% | 2.4% | 22 min | 8,963 |
| 10 | PSA Airlines | 75.7% | 11.6% | 25 min | 19,550 |
| 11 | Frontier Airlines | 72.0% | 3.6% | 24 min | 15,382 |
| 12 | Spirit Airlines | 71.9% | 7.2% | 20 min | 11,915 |
| 13 | JetBlue | 68.4% | 6.6% | 25 min | 18,109 |
Most delayed major airports
Airports with 100+ departures a day.
Most on-time major airports
Most delayed busy routes
Routes with 5+ flights a day.
Most cancelled busy routes
What caused delays this month
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)37%
- Late-arriving aircraft35%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion18%
- Extreme weather10%
- Security0%
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance, January 2026. Methodology.