MCI to DEN flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Kansas City International Airport to Denver International Airport · 533 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at MCI or DEN right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Kansas City (MCI) to Denver (DEN) arrived on time 77% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.5% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- SkyWest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (89% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (74%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (94% on time); around 5pm did worst (59%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (80% on time) and Monday the least (75%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (38%).
Which airline is most on time from MCI to DEN?
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. | 89% | 0.3% | 13 min | 5.6% | 394 |
| United Airlines | 79% | 0.5% | 13 min | 5.8% | 1,297 |
| Frontier Airlines | 79% | 0.4% | 26 min | 11.5% | 280 |
| Southwest Airlines | 74% | 0.6% | 16 min | 7.6% | 2,356 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 5am86%158 flights
- 6am94%568 flights
- 8am86%271 flights
- 9am75%413 flights
- 10am91%125 flights
- 11am86%394 flights
- 12pm91%91 flights
- 1pm82%631 flights
- 2pm76%139 flights
- 3pm60%210 flights
- 4pm53%115 flights
- 5pm59%573 flights
- 6pm70%167 flights
- 7pm62%213 flights
- 8pm76%157 flights
- 9pm62%51 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday75%0.7% cancelled
- Tuesday80%0.2% cancelled
- Wednesday80%0.2% cancelled
- Thursday77%0.2% cancelled
- Friday75%0.7% cancelled
- Saturday80%0.4% cancelled
- Sunday76%1.1% 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 aircraft38%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion34%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)23%
- Extreme weather5%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)55%
- Extreme weather32%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion14%
- Security0%
MCI to DEN: common questions
- How often are MCI to DEN 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 Kansas City to Denver cancelled?
- 0.5% of scheduled flights were cancelled (22 of 4,327).
- 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 63 min behind schedule on average, and 7.1% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at MCI?
- Flights on this route spent 19 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: DEN to MCI — 77% on time
More flights from Kansas City
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: MCI → DEN, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.