Study: U.S. flight punctuality worst since 2014

CoPIRG Foundation and U.S. PIRG Education Fund said on May 19 that U.S. airline punctuality in 2025 fell to its worst level since 2014, citing Department of Transportation data. The groups’ “Plane Truth 2026” report said delays and cancellations both rose from 2024, with about 1.66 million flights affected by delays, cancellations or diversions last year. The report said nearly one-fourth of flights did not arrive on time in 2025. Federal Transportation Department data for 2024 had already shown a softer on-time rate and higher cancellations than 2023, providing the backdrop for the latest deterioration. ### How bad was flight performance in 2025? The PIRG report said the 10 largest U.S. airlines and their marketing partners posted a 76.3% on-time arrival rate in 2025. That means roughly one in four flights missed the Department of Transportation’s on-time standard, which counts flights as on time if they arrive within 15 minutes of schedule, according to PIRG’s archive of prior “Plane Truth” reports. (pirg.org) The same report said one in nine flights arrived 45 minutes or more late and one in 12 arrived 60 minutes or more late. More than 100,000 flights were canceled by the largest U.S. operating carriers in 2025, the groups said. ### What did the researchers say is driving the strain? (pirg.org) Danny Katz, executive director of CoPIRG Foundation, said “a lot of issues are converging,” including a shortage of air traffic controllers, the economy, bad weather, more cancellations and delays, government shutdowns affecting security lines, and higher airfares and bag fees. Katz said the pressure was building even before Spirit Airlines’ collapse, which he said would affect flyers on other airlines too. (pirg.org) The report itself said there was “no single obvious cause” for the decline, while noting pressure from the economy and a drop in international tourists as possible factors. Yahoo’s travel report, citing the same PIRG findings, said some large carriers including Delta, Southwest and United had cut flights last year amid weaker demand expectations. (pirg.org) ### How do tarmac delays fit into this? PIRG said domestic tarmac delays of three hours or more jumped 63% from 2024 to 2025. Yahoo’s account of the report said that made 2025 the highest year for such delays since the federal Tarmac Delay Rule took effect in 2010. (travel.yahoo.com) The Transportation Department said in its full-year 2024 Air Travel Consumer Report that airlines had already logged 437 domestic tarmac delays of more than three hours in 2024, up from 289 in 2023. That report also showed a 78.1% on-time arrival rate in 2024, down from 78.34% in 2023, and a 1.4% cancellation rate, up from 1.3% a year earlier. (pirg.org) ### Were all airlines and airports affected the same way? Denver7, citing CoPIRG’s analysis, reported that Frontier had the highest share of flights arriving more than an hour late and ranked among the three worst carriers for cancellations and involuntary bumping. The same report said Southwest was among the best for on-time arrivals. (transportation.gov) CoPIRG said Colorado Springs Airport posted a 73.1% on-time arrival rate in 2025 and Denver International Airport posted 75.4%, both below the 76.3% national average for the largest U.S. operating airlines. Denver’s on-time departure rate was 73.9%, while Colorado Springs’ was 78.3%, the group said. (denver7.com) ### What should travelers watch next? The Bureau of Transportation Statistics says its on-time database currently includes data through February 2026, and the Transportation Department continues to publish monthly Air Travel Consumer Reports. “Plane Truth 2026,” released May 19, is the latest annual outside analysis built from those federal datasets. (transtats.bts.gov) (pirg.org)