MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - The Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) released data that shows how 30 major airports throughout the U.S. compare when it comes to on-time departures between January and June of this year. Here is how these airlines stacked up, including some in the Midwest.
MSP Airport comes in 4th
Local perspective:
For the second year in a row, BTS data has shown that Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP) has the fourth-best timely departures of the major airports ranked.
The on-time departure rate for January to June 2026 was 79.03%, which is down from last year's 81.07%.
MSP had 142,608 scheduled flights between June 2025 and May 2026, according to Business Insider.
The Minnesota airport's top carriers between June 2025 and May 2026 were Delta (56.73%), SkyWest(9.31%) and Endeavor (5.79%).
Earlier this year, MSP was ranked as the least stressful airport in the United States, according to a study by the ground transportation platform, Mozio.
DTW ranks in the middle
Local perspective:
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW) placed right in the center for on-time departures, coming in at 15th on BTS' list for flights between January and June 2026. For that same time last year, Detroit placed much higher, coming in as the seventh-best airport for on-time departures.
The on-time departure rate for January to June at DTW was 75.80% and it was 79.44% for January to June of 2025.
The total number of scheduled flights at DTW between June 2025 and May 2026 was 144,924.
The top carriers in this timeframe at DTW were Delta (54.32%), SkyWest (10.44%), and Spirit (9.56%).
Chicago's airports rank toward bottom of the on-time departures list
Local perspective:
Chicago Midway International Airport (MDW) ranked at 28 out of 30 on the list, making it the third worst on the list for on-time departures between January and June, according to BTS.
The on-time departure rate for January to June 2026 at MDW was 69.30% and it was 76.80% for January to June of 2025.
It was ranked at 17th in last year's rankings, so has fallen more than 10 places in the past year.
The total number of scheduled flights between June 2025 and May 2026 at MDW was 74,133, which is nearly half that of DTW and MSP.
The top carriers at MDW between June 2025 and May 2026 were Southwest by a high margin (93.52%), followed by Frontier (3.11%) and Delta (1.58%).
Chicago's much larger airport, O'Hare International (ORD), ranked 24th for January 2026 to June 2026. Last year, ORD was placed at 15th.
The on-time departure rate for January to June 2026 at O'Hare was 71.03% and it was 77.24% for January to June of 2025.
The total number of scheduled flights at ORD between June 2025 and May 2026 was 384,095, the highest of any previously mentioned airports.
The top carriers between June 2025 and May 2026 at O'Hare were United (38.55%), American (22.70%), and SkyWest (9.88%).
The same study that ranked MSP as the least stressful airport in the U.S., also ranked Chicago O'Hare as the most stressful U.S. airport.
The other airports' rankings
Big picture view:
Here is where the rest of the ranked airports throughout the U.S. fell for their on-time departures from Jan. to June, 2026.
- Salt Lake City (SLC) — 83.73%
- Washington, D.C. (IAD) — 82.20%
- Seattle (SEA) — 79.66%
- Minneapolis/St. Paul (MSP) — 79.03%
- Newark, NJ (EWR) — 79.02%
- Houston (IAH) — 79.01%
- Los Angeles (LAX) — 78.76%
- Atlanta (ATL) — 77.44%
- Philadelphia (PHL) — 77.08%
- New York (JFK) — 76.38%
- Phoenix (PHX) — 76.18%
- Denver (DEN) — 76.14%
- Boston (BOS) — 76.07%
- Tampa (TPA) — 75.85%
- Detroit (DTW) — 75.80%
- Charlotte, NC (CLT) — 75.57%
- San Diego (SAN) — 74.04%
- Austin (AUS) — 73.52%
- San Francisco (SFO) — 73.42%
- Las Vegas (LAS) – 73.21%
- Miami (MIA) — 72.96%
- New York (LGA) — 72.09%
- Orlando (MCO) — 71.79%
- Chicago (ORD) — 71.03%
- Baltimore (BWI) — 70.74%
- Nashville (BNA) — 69.97%
- Washington, D.C. (DCA) — 69.87%
- Chicago (MDW) — 69.30%
- Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) — 68.22%
- Fort Lauderdale (FLL) — 66.39%
Some delays at many airports are also impacted by the area's weather conditions. For instance, airports in Florida might be more impacted by hurricanes and states in colder climates might have more delays due to winter storms.
The Source: Information from this article comes from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Business Insider, and Mozio. This report was written from Eden Prairie, Minnesota.