DEN to MCI flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to Kansas City International Airport · 533 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or MCI right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Denver (DEN) to Kansas City (MCI) arrived on time 77% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.3% were cancelled, and 8% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (88% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (72%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (97% on time); around 7pm did worst (52%).
- Saturday was the most reliable day to fly (80% on time) and Thursday the least (73%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (58%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to MCI?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest AirlinesRegional airline operating flights for United Express, Delta Connection, American Eagle and Alaska. | 88% | 0.3% | 8 min | 4.1% | 393 |
| Frontier Airlines | 84% | 0.0% | 12 min | 6.8% | 280 |
| United Airlines | 80% | 0.3% | 15 min | 7.4% | 1,296 |
| Southwest Airlines | 72% | 0.4% | 17 min | 8.6% | 2,352 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am97%157 flights
- 7am93%162 flights
- 8am95%350 flights
- 9am89%325 flights
- 10am86%442 flights
- 11am85%173 flights
- 12pm75%105 flights
- 1pm82%566 flights
- 2pm71%112 flights
- 3pm65%216 flights
- 4pm64%191 flights
- 5pm67%468 flights
- 6pm65%242 flights
- 7pm52%150 flights
- 8pm65%535 flights
- 9pm52%78 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday78%0.4% cancelled
- Tuesday79%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday78%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday73%0.0% cancelled
- Friday74%0.6% cancelled
- Saturday80%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday76%0.8% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft58%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)28%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion11%
- Extreme weather2%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather60%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)27%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion13%
- Security0%
DEN to MCI: common questions
- How often are DEN to MCI flights on time?
- 77% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Denver to Kansas City cancelled?
- 0.3% of scheduled flights were cancelled (15 of 4,321).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 60 min behind schedule on average, and 7.7% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 18 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MCI to DEN — 77% on time
More flights from Denver
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DEN → MCI, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.