Airports › North Carolina
Airport · 12 months to July 2026
Wilmington International: delays and on-time record
Wilmington, North Carolina
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 7,522 domestic departures from Wilmington International (ILM), Wilmington, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 21 a day to 12 destinations.
78.3% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, 2.2 points above the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at ILM were on time 74.8% of the time, 1.2 points below the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
3.2% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 16.8 min.
American Airlines is the largest reporting carrier at ILM with 31% of departures. Among carriers with at least 120 departures, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time arrival share for its ILM departures (85.5%) and JetBlue Airways the lowest (58.3%).
On-time departures are down 1.3 points on the previous 12 months (79.6%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving ILM, late-arriving aircraft 41%, air carrier 28% and national aviation system 20%.
- On time 78.2%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 18.2%
- Cancelled 3.2%
- Diverted 0.4%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from ILM | Arrivals at ILM | All reported flights | ILM departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 78.3% | 74.7% | 76.1% | 79.6% |
| Arrived on time | 78.2% | 74.8% | 76.0% | 78.1% |
| Cancelled | 3.2% | 3.1% | 1.8% | 2.8% |
| Diverted | 0.4% | 0.1% | 0.3% | 0.2% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 16.8 min | 17.2 min | 17.4 min | 16.1 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 1,620 | 1,613 | 1,684 | 1,629 |
| Scheduled flights | 7,522 | 7,522 | 7,043,858 | 7,906 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left ILM; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved −1.3 pts.
Airlines at ILM
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AA American Airlines | 2,334 | 31% | 83.0% | 2.0 min | 2.7% |
| YX Republic Airline | 1,742 | 23% | 74.6% | 5.7 min | 5.3% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 1,176 | 16% | 85.5% | -3.9 min | 1.0% |
| OH PSA Airlines | 1,173 | 16% | 69.1% | 12.8 min | 5.1% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 800 | 11% | 79.9% | 4.9 min | 1.1% |
| B6 JetBlue Airways | 180 | 2% | 58.3% | 33.1 min | 0.6% |
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 117 | 2% | 74.4% | 26.0 min | 4.3% |
Departures from ILM 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 78.2%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from ILM
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ILM–CLT | Wilmington to Charlotte | 1,820 | 86.3% | 0.3 min | 2.1% |
| ILM–ATL | Wilmington to Atlanta | 1,149 | 86.2% | -4.4 min | 1.0% |
| ILM–LGA | Wilmington to New York | 1,027 | 72.1% | 9.4 min | 6.4% |
| ILM–DCA | Wilmington to Washington | 880 | 63.1% | 19.1 min | 6.6% |
| ILM–DFW | Wilmington to Dallas/Fort Worth | 708 | 76.7% | 4.2 min | 3.2% |
| ILM–ORD | Wilmington to Chicago | 542 | 77.5% | 9.6 min | 2.2% |
| ILM–MIA | Wilmington to Miami | 456 | 84.6% | -1.3 min | 1.8% |
| ILM–BOS | Wilmington to Boston | 433 | 61.4% | 23.2 min | 1.6% |
| ILM–EWR | Wilmington to Newark | 386 | 82.6% | -5.1 min | 3.4% |
| ILM–PHL | Wilmington to Philadelphia | 81 | 82.7% | 0.2 min | 4.9% |
The 10 busiest of 12 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 150 departures, 5 am to 6 am had the highest on-time share (92.8% of 319 flights) and 4 pm to 5 pm the lowest (58.0% of 343).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (241 in the period): air carrier 12%, weather 66%, national aviation system 21%, security 1%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for ILM on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave ILM on time?
78.3% of the 7,522 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 3.2% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at ILM on time?
74.8% of 7,522 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at ILM?
Counting departures from ILM and whether they reached their destination on time, Delta Air Lines had the highest share (85.5% of 1,176 flights), then American Airlines (83.0%) and Envoy Air (79.9%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at ILM?
For departures from ILM that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 41%, air carrier 28%, national aviation system 20%, extreme weather 10%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at ILM?
Departures scheduled from 5 am to 6 am local time left on time 92.8% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 4 pm to 5 pm was lowest at 58.0%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 78.3%, down 1.3 points on the previous 12 months (79.6%). 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 ILM?
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.