Airports › Des Moines (DSM) › May 2026
Airport month · May 2026
Des Moines International in May 2026
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.
In May 2026, reporting carriers scheduled 1,382 domestic departures from Des Moines International (DSM). 81.6% left less than 15 minutes late and 80.4% reached their destination on time; 1.2% were cancelled.
Nationally that month, 77.1% of flights departed on time and 77.6% arrived on time, so DSM departures were 4.5 points above the national departure figure.
A year earlier, in May 2025, the airport had 1,218 departures with 80.8% leaving on time: a change of +0.8 points, with flights up 13%.
Flights arriving at DSM that month were on time 76.7% of the time (1,384 scheduled arrivals).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category that month, late-arriving aircraft 34%, air carrier 28% and national aviation system 24%.
- On time 80.4%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 18.3%
- Cancelled 1.2%
- Diverted 0.1%
May 2026 against a year earlier, the airport's year and the nation
| Measure | May 2026 | May 2025 | DSM, 12 months to Jul 2026 | All reported flights, May 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time | 81.6% | 80.8% | 78.5% | 77.1% |
| Arrived on time | 80.4% | 78.6% | 77.3% | 77.6% |
| Cancelled | 1.2% | 0.7% | 2.5% | 0.9% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 16.2 min | 16.2 min | 20.8 min | 16.0 min |
| Scheduled departures a day | 46 | 41 | 43 | 20,391 |
| Scheduled departures | 1,382 | 1,218 | 15,584 | 611,735 |
Airlines that month
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 237 | 17% | 83.5% | 1.3 min | 1.3% |
| AA American Airlines | 214 | 15% | 81.3% | 14.0 min | 1.9% |
| UA United Airlines | 185 | 13% | 71.9% | 15.9 min | 0.5% |
| WN Southwest Airlines | 163 | 12% | 75.5% | 10.2 min | 0.0% |
| G4 Allegiant Air | 157 | 11% | 79.6% | 1.3 min | 0.6% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 141 | 10% | 84.4% | 0.4 min | 2.1% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 121 | 9% | 84.3% | -8.1 min | 3.3% |
| YX Republic Airline | 90 | 7% | 87.8% | -12.7 min | 0.0% |
| OH PSA Airlines | 64 | 5% | 76.6% | 0.1 min | 0.0% |
| F9 Frontier Airlines | 10 | 1% | 90.0% | -6.2 min | 0.0% |
Busiest routes that month
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DSM–ORD | Des Moines to Chicago | 346 | 79.5% | 9.0 min | 1.2% |
| DSM–DEN | Des Moines to Denver | 217 | 82.9% | 3.3 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–DFW | Des Moines to Dallas/Fort Worth | 123 | 78.0% | 6.0 min | 4.9% |
| DSM–ATL | Des Moines to Atlanta | 121 | 84.3% | -8.1 min | 3.3% |
| DSM–PHX | Des Moines to Phoenix | 94 | 76.6% | 23.5 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–DCA | Des Moines to Washington | 61 | 78.7% | -4.8 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–CLT | Des Moines to Charlotte | 60 | 91.7% | -8.5 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–MDW | Des Moines to Chicago | 57 | 77.2% | 5.9 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–LAS | Des Moines to Las Vegas | 51 | 74.5% | 6.8 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–LAX | Des Moines to Los Angeles | 32 | 81.3% | -6.5 min | 0.0% |
| DSM–IAH | Des Moines to Houston | 31 | 74.2% | 11.0 min | 3.2% |
| DSM–PHL | Des Moines to Philadelphia | 26 | 65.4% | 9.7 min | 3.8% |
By scheduled departure hour
Delay causes
Questions and answers
How many flights left DSM on time in May 2026?
81.6% of 1,382 scheduled domestic departures left less than 15 minutes late, and 80.4% reached their destination on time. The national figures that month were 77.1% and 77.6%.
How does that compare with a year earlier?
In May 2025, 80.8% of 1,218 departures left on time and 0.7% were cancelled, against 81.6% and 1.2% in May 2026.
Provenance
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance, file for May 2026; public domain. Domestic scheduled flights by reporting carriers, totals and averages only. The site's data runs through July 2026. Full record for DSM · methodology · corrections.