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Airport · 12 months to July 2026
George Bush Intercontinental/Houston: delays and on-time record
Houston, Texas
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.
Reporting carriers scheduled 119,020 domestic departures from George Bush Intercontinental/Houston (IAH), Houston, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 326 a day to 118 destinations.
78.1% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, 2.0 points above the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at IAH were on time 79.5% of the time, 3.5 points above the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
1.1% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 17.2 min.
United Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at IAH with 62% of departures. Among carriers with at least 1,190 departures, United Airlines had the highest on-time arrival share for its IAH departures (79.4%) and Frontier Airlines the lowest (68.6%).
On-time departures are up 1.9 points on the previous 12 months (76.2%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving IAH, late-arriving aircraft 37%, air carrier 33% and national aviation system 24%.
- On time 77.6%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 21.1%
- Cancelled 1.1%
- Diverted 0.3%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from IAH | Arrivals at IAH | All reported flights | IAH departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 78.1% | 81.2% | 76.1% | 76.2% |
| Arrived on time | 77.6% | 79.5% | 76.0% | 76.6% |
| Cancelled | 1.1% | 1.1% | 1.8% | 1.4% |
| Diverted | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 17.2 min | 14.9 min | 17.4 min | 19.0 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,664 | 1,522 | 1,684 | 1,799 |
| Scheduled flights | 119,020 | 119,011 | 7,043,858 | 116,799 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left IAH; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved +1.9 pts.
Airlines at IAH
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UA United Airlines | 74,382 | 62% | 79.4% | 4.5 min | 0.6% |
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 14,030 | 12% | 76.0% | 13.5 min | 1.0% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 8,388 | 7% | 79.0% | 7.0 min | 1.9% |
| AA American Airlines | 7,876 | 7% | 74.7% | 19.9 min | 2.5% |
| F9 Frontier Airlines | 5,062 | 4% | 68.6% | 16.9 min | 2.2% |
| NK Spirit Airlines | 4,744 | 4% | 72.7% | 10.0 min | 2.9% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 1,285 | 1% | 75.4% | 11.0 min | 1.9% |
| AS Alaska Airlines | 1,205 | 1% | 78.7% | 3.6 min | 0.7% |
| YX Republic Airline | 913 | 1% | 70.8% | 9.2 min | 4.2% |
| B6 JetBlue Airways | 672 | 1% | 50.6% | 42.8 min | 3.9% |
| OH PSA Airlines | 463 | 0% | 64.1% | 32.5 min | 5.6% |
Departures from IAH 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 77.6%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from IAH
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAH–ORD | Houston to Chicago | 6,119 | 73.6% | 13.0 min | 1.6% |
| IAH–DFW | Houston to Dallas/Fort Worth | 5,804 | 73.3% | 17.4 min | 2.5% |
| IAH–LAX | Houston to Los Angeles | 5,220 | 83.4% | -0.6 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–ATL | Houston to Atlanta | 4,919 | 75.5% | 8.1 min | 2.0% |
| IAH–DEN | Houston to Denver | 4,715 | 81.5% | 2.5 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–LGA | Houston to New York | 4,024 | 69.9% | 15.0 min | 2.9% |
| IAH–EWR | Houston to Newark | 3,769 | 73.1% | 10.1 min | 1.8% |
| IAH–MIA | Houston to Miami | 3,712 | 77.1% | 10.5 min | 1.1% |
| IAH–MCO | Houston to Orlando | 3,628 | 80.8% | 3.9 min | 0.9% |
| IAH–SFO | Houston to San Francisco | 3,598 | 77.7% | 4.1 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–LAS | Houston to Las Vegas | 3,430 | 81.7% | 1.3 min | 0.9% |
| IAH–DCA | Houston to Washington | 3,279 | 73.1% | 10.3 min | 2.0% |
| IAH–PHX | Houston to Phoenix | 2,960 | 78.3% | 8.4 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–MSY | Houston to New Orleans | 2,930 | 83.3% | 2.1 min | 0.2% |
| IAH–FLL | Houston to Fort Lauderdale | 2,821 | 78.1% | 5.4 min | 1.2% |
| IAH–AUS | Houston to Austin | 2,696 | 79.0% | 7.0 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–SAT | Houston to San Antonio | 2,406 | 82.2% | 2.5 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–CLT | Houston to Charlotte | 2,326 | 79.1% | 11.1 min | 1.9% |
| IAH–DTW | Houston to Detroit | 2,114 | 77.5% | 8.2 min | 1.1% |
| IAH–SEA | Houston to Seattle | 2,090 | 78.6% | 3.8 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–BOS | Houston to Boston | 2,019 | 70.5% | 15.0 min | 1.5% |
| IAH–SLC | Houston to Salt Lake City | 1,949 | 82.4% | 4.3 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–MSP | Houston to Minneapolis | 1,900 | 78.5% | 9.3 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–IAD | Houston to Washington | 1,871 | 81.0% | 5.2 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–PHL | Houston to Philadelphia | 1,848 | 77.1% | 14.9 min | 2.0% |
| IAH–SAN | Houston to San Diego | 1,696 | 81.0% | 0.6 min | 0.2% |
| IAH–TPA | Houston to Tampa | 1,579 | 81.6% | 2.6 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–BNA | Houston to Nashville | 1,408 | 72.2% | 11.9 min | 0.6% |
| IAH–BWI | Houston to Baltimore | 1,311 | 75.1% | 9.1 min | 1.4% |
| IAH–OKC | Houston to Oklahoma City | 1,285 | 78.5% | 9.2 min | 1.2% |
| IAH–PDX | Houston to Portland | 1,227 | 80.1% | 3.5 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–SHV | Houston to Shreveport | 1,202 | 73.9% | 15.7 min | 1.1% |
| IAH–SNA | Houston to Santa Ana | 1,092 | 86.8% | -5.9 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–MEM | Houston to Memphis | 1,088 | 78.9% | 6.5 min | 1.1% |
| IAH–TUL | Houston to Tulsa | 1,087 | 82.0% | 4.8 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–SJU | Houston to San Juan | 928 | 82.3% | -1.2 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–RDU | Houston to Raleigh/Durham | 924 | 81.5% | 5.1 min | 1.2% |
| IAH–RSW | Houston to Fort Myers | 874 | 84.1% | -1.1 min | 0.1% |
| IAH–CLE | Houston to Cleveland | 825 | 84.5% | -0.5 min | 0.2% |
| IAH–OMA | Houston to Omaha | 825 | 75.5% | 10.6 min | 0.1% |
| IAH–MAF | Houston to Midland/Odessa | 778 | 79.7% | 3.7 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–PIT | Houston to Pittsburgh | 774 | 82.2% | 3.4 min | 0.1% |
| IAH–CVG | Houston to Cincinnati | 691 | 74.2% | 9.1 min | 0.9% |
| IAH–JAX | Houston to Jacksonville | 691 | 76.6% | 6.3 min | 0.3% |
| IAH–MFE | Houston to Mission/McAllen/Edinburg | 689 | 77.1% | 11.0 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–SMF | Houston to Sacramento | 676 | 79.3% | 1.2 min | 0.1% |
| IAH–LIT | Houston to Little Rock | 651 | 76.8% | 9.7 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–IND | Houston to Indianapolis | 640 | 79.8% | 4.9 min | 0.3% |
| IAH–MEI | Houston to Meridian | 627 | 73.8% | 18.3 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–PIB | Houston to Hattiesburg/Laurel | 627 | 72.1% | 13.3 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–ASE | Houston to Aspen | 624 | 69.9% | 9.6 min | 2.7% |
| IAH–VCT | Houston to Victoria | 592 | 72.5% | 46.8 min | 1.7% |
| IAH–PNS | Houston to Pensacola | 565 | 73.3% | 11.9 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–ICT | Houston to Wichita | 561 | 78.8% | 6.2 min | 0.9% |
| IAH–ONT | Houston to Ontario | 561 | 77.9% | 3.4 min | 0.2% |
| IAH–CRP | Houston to Corpus Christi | 539 | 80.3% | 8.4 min | 1.3% |
| IAH–CMH | Houston to Columbus | 522 | 76.6% | 9.0 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–PBI | Houston to West Palm Beach/Palm Beach | 492 | 78.5% | 4.9 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–MCI | Houston to Kansas City | 486 | 76.3% | 6.7 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–ABQ | Houston to Albuquerque | 473 | 78.4% | 3.5 min | 0.8% |
| IAH–BTR | Houston to Baton Rouge | 438 | 79.5% | 6.0 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–STL | Houston to St. Louis | 420 | 74.5% | 10.1 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–JFK | Houston to New York | 413 | 63.4% | 29.6 min | 5.3% |
| IAH–HNL | Houston to Honolulu | 365 | 78.1% | 3.1 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–DSM | Houston to Des Moines | 346 | 75.7% | 7.7 min | 0.9% |
| IAH–SLN | Houston to Salina | 326 | 75.2% | 17.9 min | 0.6% |
| IAH–LFT | Houston to Lafayette | 313 | 75.4% | 22.9 min | 1.9% |
| IAH–HOB | Houston to Hobbs | 293 | 73.0% | 30.1 min | 1.0% |
| IAH–CHA | Houston to Chattanooga | 248 | 66.5% | 32.9 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–COS | Houston to Colorado Springs | 246 | 77.6% | 8.2 min | 0.4% |
| IAH–MKE | Houston to Milwaukee | 240 | 75.4% | 8.4 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–MGM | Houston to Montgomery | 232 | 74.6% | 13.3 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–SJC | Houston to San Jose | 215 | 85.1% | 1.3 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–CHS | Houston to Charleston | 210 | 69.0% | 15.9 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–TUS | Houston to Tucson | 206 | 82.0% | -1.2 min | 1.9% |
| IAH–EGE | Houston to Eagle | 206 | 68.0% | 7.7 min | 0.5% |
| IAH–LBB | Houston to Lubbock | 184 | 72.3% | 13.5 min | 2.2% |
| IAH–XNA | Houston to Fayetteville | 179 | 77.7% | 7.7 min | 1.7% |
| IAH–STT | Houston to Charlotte Amalie | 173 | 82.1% | -3.4 min | 1.7% |
| IAH–PAH | Houston to Paducah | 144 | 74.3% | 38.0 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–AEX | Houston to Alexandria | 144 | 77.1% | 9.3 min | 0.7% |
| IAH–ABI | Houston to Abilene | 137 | 81.8% | -0.5 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–ELP | Houston to El Paso | 133 | 87.2% | 1.0 min | 0.0% |
| IAH–AMA | Houston to Amarillo | 127 | 84.3% | 2.4 min | 1.6% |
| IAH–ANC | Houston to Anchorage | 127 | 82.7% | -2.4 min | 0.0% |
The 85 busiest of 118 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 2,380 departures, 7 am to 8 am had the highest on-time share (90.4% of 12,080 flights) and 5 pm to 6 pm the lowest (68.2% of 3,516).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (1,306 in the period): air carrier 27%, weather 63%, national aviation system 10%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for IAH on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave IAH on time?
78.1% of the 119,020 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 1.1% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at IAH on time?
79.5% of 119,011 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at IAH?
Counting departures from IAH and whether they reached their destination on time, United Airlines had the highest share (79.4% of 74,382 flights), then Delta Air Lines (79.0%) and Alaska Airlines (78.7%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at IAH?
For departures from IAH that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 37%, air carrier 33%, national aviation system 24%, extreme weather 6%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at IAH?
Departures scheduled from 7 am to 8 am local time left on time 90.4% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 5 pm to 6 pm was lowest at 68.2%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 78.1%, up 1.9 points on the previous 12 months (76.2%). 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 IAH?
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.