Percent of Flight Delay by Delay Cause 2010-2022

Figure

A combination line graph and bar chart showing the percentage of flight delay by delay cause and the total number of arriving flights from 2010 to 2022. Delay causes are air carrier delay, aircraft arriving late, national aviation system delay, security delay, and extreme weather. The most flights arrived in 2019 at 7.4 million. Aircraft arriving late caused the most delays from 2010 until 2019. Air carrier delays caused the most delays in 2020 through 2022.

Dataset Excel:

F1-15 Percent of Flight Delay by Delay Cause 2010-2022.xlsx (30.54 KB)

Notes:

Air Carrier Delay— the cause of the cancellation or delay was due to circumstances within the airline’s control (e.g. maintenance or crew problems, etc.). Aircraft Arriving Late—previous flight with same aircraft arrived late which caused the present flight to depart late. Security Delay—delays caused by evacuation of terminal or concourse, reboarding of aircraft because of security breech, inoperative screening equipment and long lines in excess of 29 minutes at screening areas. National Aviation System (NAS) Delay—delays and cancellations attributable to the national aviation system refer to a board set of conditions, including non-extreme weather conditions, airport operations, heavy traffic volume, air traffic control, etc. Extreme Weather Delay—significant meteorological conditions (actual or forecasted) that, in the judgement of the carrier, delays or prevents the operation of a flight.

Source:

U.S. Department of Transportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline On-Time Statistics and Delay Causes, available at https://www.transtats.bts.gov/ot_delay/OT_DelayCause1.asp as of September 2023.

Publications:

Transportation Statistics Annual Report Figure 1-15

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Percent of Flight Delay by Delay Cause 2010-2022