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Airport · 12 months to July 2026
Buffalo Niagara International: delays and on-time record
Buffalo, New York
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; this is a monthly history, not live airport status.
Buffalo Niagara International (BUF) in Buffalo, New York had 20,726 scheduled domestic departures by reporting carriers in the 12 months to July 2026, about 57 a day, on 34 routes.
75.6% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, 0.5 points below the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at BUF were on time 70.9% of the time, 5.1 points below the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
2.6% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 18.8 min.
Southwest Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at BUF with 26% of departures. Among carriers with at least 207 departures, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time arrival share for its BUF departures (80.9%) and PSA Airlines the lowest (62.4%).
On-time departures are down 4.3 points on the previous 12 months (79.9%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving BUF, late-arriving aircraft 43%, air carrier 31% and national aviation system 22%.
- On time 75.5%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 21.7%
- Cancelled 2.6%
- Diverted 0.2%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from BUF | Arrivals at BUF | All reported flights | BUF departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 75.6% | 70.3% | 76.1% | 79.9% |
| Arrived on time | 75.5% | 70.9% | 76.0% | 79.2% |
| Cancelled | 2.6% | 2.7% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
| Diverted | 0.2% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 18.8 min | 19.9 min | 17.4 min | 14.9 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,827 | 1,913 | 1,684 | 1,500 |
| Scheduled flights | 20,726 | 20,721 | 7,043,858 | 21,400 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left BUF; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved −4.3 pts.
Airlines at BUF
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WN Southwest Airlines | 5,489 | 26% | 78.5% | 4.9 min | 1.1% |
| B6 JetBlue Airways | 3,439 | 17% | 73.0% | 10.5 min | 3.8% |
| YX Republic Airline | 3,380 | 16% | 76.9% | 6.3 min | 4.2% |
| AA American Airlines | 2,238 | 11% | 76.8% | 10.1 min | 2.2% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 1,786 | 9% | 80.9% | 1.8 min | 2.1% |
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 1,136 | 5% | 71.0% | 22.3 min | 3.1% |
| UA United Airlines | 981 | 5% | 78.7% | 11.5 min | 0.9% |
| F9 Frontier Airlines | 827 | 4% | 67.8% | 17.1 min | 2.1% |
| OH PSA Airlines | 814 | 4% | 62.4% | 38.9 min | 5.2% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 636 | 3% | 65.1% | 13.3 min | 4.4% |
Departures from BUF by reporting carrier, ordered by flights; on time means the flight reached its destination less than 15 minutes late. Green is at or above the airport's overall share of 75.5%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from BUF
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUF–ORD | Buffalo to Chicago | 2,199 | 72.2% | 16.9 min | 3.2% |
| BUF–MCO | Buffalo to Orlando | 1,792 | 74.4% | 9.7 min | 1.5% |
| BUF–LGA | Buffalo to New York | 1,758 | 74.3% | 9.1 min | 4.8% |
| BUF–BWI | Buffalo to Baltimore | 1,750 | 85.5% | -0.6 min | 1.4% |
| BUF–ATL | Buffalo to Atlanta | 1,520 | 78.1% | 4.2 min | 2.2% |
| BUF–BOS | Buffalo to Boston | 1,295 | 74.1% | 7.9 min | 2.9% |
| BUF–JFK | Buffalo to New York | 1,217 | 72.9% | 10.7 min | 5.6% |
| BUF–DTW | Buffalo to Detroit | 1,207 | 79.5% | 10.0 min | 1.7% |
| BUF–CLT | Buffalo to Charlotte | 1,165 | 77.5% | 11.4 min | 1.7% |
| BUF–DCA | Buffalo to Washington | 1,134 | 62.4% | 31.4 min | 4.9% |
| BUF–MDW | Buffalo to Chicago | 824 | 75.6% | 8.9 min | 1.3% |
| BUF–TPA | Buffalo to Tampa | 732 | 79.2% | 5.3 min | 0.5% |
| BUF–DEN | Buffalo to Denver | 586 | 74.7% | 8.1 min | 0.2% |
| BUF–DFW | Buffalo to Dallas/Fort Worth | 578 | 70.8% | 10.3 min | 2.9% |
| BUF–FLL | Buffalo to Fort Lauderdale | 553 | 73.4% | 9.6 min | 2.4% |
| BUF–EWR | Buffalo to Newark | 482 | 83.2% | -3.4 min | 5.0% |
| BUF–BNA | Buffalo to Nashville | 370 | 77.6% | 6.8 min | 0.8% |
| BUF–LAS | Buffalo to Las Vegas | 302 | 81.1% | -1.3 min | 0.7% |
| BUF–PHL | Buffalo to Philadelphia | 263 | 79.1% | 11.6 min | 3.4% |
| BUF–PHX | Buffalo to Phoenix | 199 | 78.9% | 4.3 min | 0.5% |
| BUF–IAD | Buffalo to Washington | 147 | 85.7% | 6.6 min | 2.0% |
| BUF–LAX | Buffalo to Los Angeles | 137 | 59.1% | 28.4 min | 2.9% |
| BUF–RSW | Buffalo to Fort Myers | 134 | 70.9% | 4.1 min | 3.7% |
The 23 busiest of 34 routes with reported flights. Routes with at least 10 flights a month have their own page.
Month by month
By scheduled departure hour
Among hours with at least 415 departures, 7 am to 8 am had the highest on-time share (89.6% of 1,761 flights) and 4 pm to 5 pm the lowest (57.3% of 1,164).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (547 in the period): air carrier 18%, weather 61%, national aviation system 21%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for BUF on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave BUF on time?
75.6% of the 20,726 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 2.6% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at BUF on time?
70.9% of 20,721 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at BUF?
Counting departures from BUF and whether they reached their destination on time, Delta Air Lines had the highest share (80.9% of 1,786 flights), then United Airlines (78.7%) and Southwest Airlines (78.5%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at BUF?
For departures from BUF that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 43%, air carrier 31%, national aviation system 22%, extreme weather 4%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at BUF?
Departures scheduled from 7 am to 8 am local time left on time 89.6% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 4 pm to 5 pm was lowest at 57.3%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 75.6%, down 4.3 points on the previous 12 months (79.9%). The monthly chart shows each of the last 36 months, and each month has its own page.
Does this page show today's delays at BUF?
No. BTS publishes on-time records about two months after the month ends, so this page is a monthly history through July 2026. For live conditions use the FAA airport status service or your airline.
Provenance
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987 to present), monthly files August 2023 to July 2026; airport name from the BTS airport lookup table. US government works in the public domain. Domestic scheduled flights by reporting carriers only: international flights, charters and smaller carriers are not in the source. Totals and averages only; no individual flight or aircraft is identified. See the methodology; report processing errors through corrections.