Airlines › Southwest Airlines
Reporting carrier · 12 months to July 2026
Southwest Airlines: on-time performance
BTS: A flight is counted as on time if it arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time. Only carriers with at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue report. Data through July 2026.
Southwest Airlines (BTS code WN) reported 1,389,951 scheduled domestic flights in the 12 months to July 2026, serving 108 airports on 2,012 routes.
75.5% of its flights arrived on time, 0.5 points below the 76.0% recorded for all reporting carriers together. 0.9% were cancelled (all carriers: 1.8%) and 0.2% diverted; flights that arrived were 6.8 min late on average.
Its busiest airports by departures are Denver (DEN, 6% of departures), Las Vegas (LAS, 6% of departures) and Baltimore (BWI, 5% of departures).
The on-time share is down 4.4 points on the previous 12 months (79.9%); the cancellation share moved from 0.9% to 0.9%.
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category on its flights, late-arriving aircraft 51%, air carrier 28% and national aviation system 18%.
- On time 75.5%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 23.3%
- Cancelled 0.9%
- Diverted 0.2%
Against all reporting carriers
| Measure | Southwest Airlines | All reporting carriers | WN, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arrived on time | 75.5% | 76.0% | 79.9% |
| Departed on time | 71.2% | 76.1% | 77.2% |
| Arrived 15+ minutes late | 23.3% | 21.9% | 19.0% |
| Cancelled | 0.9% | 1.8% | 0.9% |
| Diverted | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Average arrival delay | 6.8 min | 8.1 min | 4.2 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,354 | 1,684 | 1,186 |
| Scheduled flights | 1,389,951 | 7,043,858 | 1,392,421 |
By on-time share, Southwest Airlines is 6 of 13 reporting carriers in the 12 months to July 2026; the full table is on the airline on-time ranking. Year on year: −4.4 pts on time.
Month by month
Busiest airports
| Airport | Departures | Share of carrier | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled | Airport, all carriers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN Denver | 88,450 | 6.4% | 69.4% | 11.9 min | 0.6% | 76.1% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 86,313 | 6.2% | 73.6% | 7.4 min | 0.6% | 76.8% |
| BWI Baltimore | 72,159 | 5.2% | 76.1% | 5.8 min | 1.6% | 76.4% |
| MDW Chicago | 69,305 | 5% | 73.7% | 8.1 min | 1.5% | 73.9% |
| DAL Dallas | 68,611 | 4.9% | 71.4% | 10.4 min | 1.4% | 71.6% |
| PHX Phoenix | 67,125 | 4.8% | 73.2% | 8.9 min | 0.6% | 77.4% |
| BNA Nashville | 62,118 | 4.5% | 73.4% | 7.4 min | 0.8% | 74.4% |
| MCO Orlando | 50,933 | 3.7% | 71.7% | 10.6 min | 1.0% | 73.0% |
| HOU Houston | 50,270 | 3.6% | 75.9% | 6.7 min | 0.7% | 76.0% |
| STL St. Louis | 39,473 | 2.8% | 76.1% | 7.0 min | 0.6% | 76.8% |
| AUS Austin | 38,365 | 2.8% | 72.8% | 8.9 min | 0.6% | 75.5% |
| SAN San Diego | 38,266 | 2.8% | 71.7% | 8.1 min | 0.9% | 76.1% |
| SMF Sacramento | 31,980 | 2.3% | 79.7% | 4.2 min | 0.5% | 81.4% |
| OAK Oakland | 27,848 | 2% | 77.6% | 5.6 min | 0.5% | 78.5% |
| SJC San Jose | 26,436 | 1.9% | 79.0% | 4.0 min | 0.5% | 81.9% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 25,416 | 1.8% | 73.0% | 7.8 min | 0.5% | 79.0% |
| TPA Tampa | 23,746 | 1.7% | 76.7% | 6.6 min | 0.9% | 76.9% |
| MCI Kansas City | 23,382 | 1.7% | 77.5% | 5.8 min | 0.8% | 78.7% |
| MSY New Orleans | 18,308 | 1.3% | 75.7% | 7.7 min | 0.6% | 76.9% |
| ATL Atlanta | 17,479 | 1.3% | 75.8% | 8.0 min | 1.0% | 76.6% |
| BUR Burbank | 17,444 | 1.3% | 81.9% | 0.7 min | 1.1% | 80.9% |
| DCA Washington | 16,026 | 1.2% | 72.0% | 10.1 min | 1.9% | 70.1% |
| SAT San Antonio | 15,197 | 1.1% | 79.7% | 3.8 min | 0.5% | 80.6% |
| SNA Santa Ana | 14,667 | 1.1% | 82.8% | 1.0 min | 0.6% | 80.3% |
| LGB Long Beach | 13,296 | 1% | 84.2% | -0.6 min | 0.3% | 84.8% |
The 25 airports with the most WN departures of 108 served. On time means the flight reached its destination less than 15 minutes late; the pill is green when the carrier is at or above the figure for all carriers' departures from that airport (last column).
Busiest routes
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL–HOU | Dallas to Houston | 4,053 | 73.4% | 7.0 min | 1.9% |
| HOU–DAL | Houston to Dallas | 4,047 | 79.0% | 3.5 min | 2.2% |
| DEN–PHX | Denver to Phoenix | 3,964 | 71.5% | 10.3 min | 1.0% |
| PHX–DEN | Phoenix to Denver | 3,937 | 72.1% | 11.6 min | 0.6% |
| SMF–SAN | Sacramento to San Diego | 3,804 | 69.1% | 12.7 min | 0.6% |
| SAN–SMF | San Diego to Sacramento | 3,800 | 74.2% | 5.7 min | 0.6% |
| LAS–SAN | Las Vegas to San Diego | 3,765 | 60.4% | 16.9 min | 0.9% |
| SAN–LAS | San Diego to Las Vegas | 3,747 | 72.9% | 6.7 min | 1.3% |
| SAN–SJC | San Diego to San Jose | 3,746 | 74.4% | 5.5 min | 0.7% |
| SJC–SAN | San Jose to San Diego | 3,740 | 68.3% | 12.2 min | 0.9% |
| MCO–BWI | Orlando to Baltimore | 3,587 | 75.2% | 6.7 min | 1.8% |
| BWI–MCO | Baltimore to Orlando | 3,575 | 75.2% | 7.6 min | 1.9% |
| LAS–SMF | Las Vegas to Sacramento | 3,452 | 77.3% | 5.0 min | 0.3% |
| PHX–LAS | Phoenix to Las Vegas | 3,451 | 76.4% | 5.8 min | 1.1% |
| LAS–PHX | Las Vegas to Phoenix | 3,449 | 75.7% | 5.8 min | 1.0% |
| SMF–LAS | Sacramento to Las Vegas | 3,444 | 78.4% | 6.5 min | 0.4% |
| LAS–RNO | Las Vegas to Reno | 3,317 | 78.1% | 3.6 min | 0.6% |
| RNO–LAS | Reno to Las Vegas | 3,315 | 82.1% | 0.9 min | 0.5% |
| LAS–SJC | Las Vegas to San Jose | 3,275 | 78.0% | 3.5 min | 0.3% |
| SJC–LAS | San Jose to Las Vegas | 3,247 | 80.4% | 4.6 min | 0.4% |
| PHX–SAN | Phoenix to San Diego | 3,219 | 69.4% | 11.5 min | 1.0% |
| BUR–LAS | Burbank to Las Vegas | 3,213 | 79.7% | 3.4 min | 1.4% |
| SAN–PHX | San Diego to Phoenix | 3,197 | 72.0% | 7.7 min | 1.4% |
| OAK–LAS | Oakland to Las Vegas | 3,196 | 76.4% | 8.3 min | 0.6% |
| LAS–BUR | Las Vegas to Burbank | 3,179 | 76.3% | 5.7 min | 1.1% |
The 25 routes with the most WN flights of 2,012 flown. Figures are for this carrier's flights only; the route pages compare every carrier on the route.
By scheduled departure hour
Delay causes and cancellations
Cancellations by reported reason (12,238 in the period): air carrier 20%, weather 58%, national aviation system 22%, security 0%.
Questions and answers
What is Southwest Airlines's on-time performance?
75.5% of 1,389,951 scheduled domestic flights in the 12 months to July 2026 arrived less than 15 minutes late. All reporting carriers together recorded 76.0%.
How often does Southwest Airlines cancel flights?
0.9% of its scheduled domestic flights were cancelled in the period, against 1.8% for all reporting carriers.
What causes Southwest Airlines delays?
For flights that arrived 15 or more minutes late, the carrier attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 51%, air carrier 28%, national aviation system 18%, extreme weather 2%, security 0%. Carriers assign these categories themselves under BTS rules.
At which airports does Southwest Airlines have its highest on-time share?
Among its 25 busiest airports with at least 600 departures, flights leaving Long Beach (LGB) had the highest on-time arrival share at 84.2%, and those leaving Denver (DEN) the lowest at 69.4%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share?
Its flights scheduled to depart from 5 am to 6 am local time arrived on time 93.8% of the time; those scheduled from 9 pm to 10 pm did so 60.7% of the time.
Is it getting better?
The on-time share for the 12 months to July 2026 was 75.5%, down 4.4 points on the previous 12 months (79.9%).
Why are some airlines missing?
Only carriers with at least 0.5 percent of domestic scheduled passenger revenue must report on-time data to BTS. Smaller carriers, charter operators and foreign airlines are not in the files, and flights to or from other countries are not covered.
Provenance
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987 to present), monthly files August 2023 to July 2026; carrier name from the BTS unique carrier lookup. US government works in the public domain. The carrier code is the BTS reporting-carrier code, which identifies the company that operated the flight, not the brand it was sold under. Totals and averages only. See the methodology and which airlines report.