Airports › Tennessee
Airport · 12 months to July 2026
McGhee Tyson: delays and on-time record
Knoxville, Tennessee
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 13,561 domestic departures from McGhee Tyson (TYS), Knoxville, in the 12 months to July 2026: about 37 a day to 38 destinations.
76.3% of those flights left the gate less than 15 minutes late, level with the national departure figure of 76.1%. Flights arriving at TYS were on time 70.9% of the time, 5.1 points below the national arrival figure of 76.0%.
2.1% of scheduled departures were cancelled (national: 1.8%), and the average departure delay, counting early and on-time departures as zero, was 22.0 min.
Allegiant Air is the largest reporting carrier at TYS with 25% of departures. Among carriers with at least 136 departures, Delta Air Lines had the highest on-time arrival share for its TYS departures (86.1%) and PSA Airlines the lowest (69.5%).
On-time departures are down 3.5 points on the previous 12 months (79.8%).
Of the delay minutes that carriers assigned to a BTS cause category for flights leaving TYS, late-arriving aircraft 40%, air carrier 36% and national aviation system 15%.
- On time 75.1%
- Arrived 15+ minutes late 22.3%
- Cancelled 2.1%
- Diverted 0.5%
As origin and as destination, against the nation
| Measure | Departures from TYS | Arrivals at TYS | All reported flights | TYS departures, previous 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Departed on time (less than 15 min late) | 76.3% | 71.7% | 76.1% | 79.8% |
| Arrived on time | 75.1% | 70.9% | 76.0% | 78.7% |
| Cancelled | 2.1% | 2.0% | 1.8% | 1.7% |
| Diverted | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| Average departure delay (late minutes only) | 22.0 min | 22.6 min | 17.4 min | 17.9 min |
| Arrival delay minutes per 100 flights | 2,180 | 2,264 | 1,684 | 1,835 |
| Scheduled flights | 13,561 | 13,563 | 7,043,858 | 15,070 |
12 months to July 2026. The first column follows flights that left TYS; the second follows flights that landed there. Year on year, on-time departures moved −3.5 pts.
Airlines at TYS
| Reporting carrier | Flights | Share | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G4 Allegiant Air | 3,364 | 25% | 72.4% | 14.7 min | 0.4% |
| OH PSA Airlines | 2,994 | 22% | 69.5% | 20.8 min | 4.2% |
| DL Delta Air Lines | 1,720 | 13% | 86.1% | -5.9 min | 1.9% |
| AA American Airlines | 1,613 | 12% | 73.0% | 16.2 min | 3.6% |
| OO SkyWest Airlines | 1,307 | 10% | 72.7% | 18.9 min | 2.9% |
| WN Southwest Airlines | 823 | 6% | 80.4% | 2.4 min | 0.1% |
| MQ Envoy Air | 726 | 5% | 80.6% | 2.9 min | 1.1% |
| UA United Airlines | 677 | 5% | 83.8% | 2.7 min | 0.9% |
| YX Republic Airline | 202 | 1% | 75.7% | 13.6 min | 1.0% |
| F9 Frontier Airlines | 135 | 1% | 74.1% | 6.3 min | 0.0% |
Departures from TYS 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 75.1%. Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the rows are not a like-for-like test.
Busiest routes from TYS
| Route | Cities | Flights | On time | Avg arrival delay | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TYS–ORD | Knoxville to Chicago | 2,188 | 66.4% | 24.1 min | 4.1% |
| TYS–DFW | Knoxville to Dallas/Fort Worth | 1,738 | 73.7% | 11.3 min | 3.8% |
| TYS–ATL | Knoxville to Atlanta | 1,719 | 86.0% | -5.9 min | 1.9% |
| TYS–DCA | Knoxville to Washington | 1,021 | 67.2% | 28.6 min | 4.1% |
| TYS–DEN | Knoxville to Denver | 1,001 | 84.0% | -0.1 min | 0.5% |
| TYS–CLT | Knoxville to Charlotte | 894 | 77.4% | 15.0 min | 2.5% |
| TYS–SFB | Knoxville to Sanford | 639 | 68.1% | 19.3 min | 0.6% |
| TYS–PIE | Knoxville to St. Petersburg | 522 | 72.8% | 17.1 min | 0.6% |
| TYS–MIA | Knoxville to Miami | 487 | 81.3% | 8.6 min | 0.6% |
| TYS–FLL | Knoxville to Fort Lauderdale | 481 | 52.8% | 35.9 min | 0.8% |
| TYS–PHL | Knoxville to Philadelphia | 342 | 80.4% | 3.7 min | 2.6% |
| TYS–BNA | Knoxville to Nashville | 297 | 81.1% | 0.4 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–MCO | Knoxville to Orlando | 264 | 74.6% | 7.4 min | 0.8% |
| TYS–PGD | Knoxville to Punta Gorda | 217 | 69.6% | 18.9 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–DAL | Knoxville to Dallas | 149 | 78.5% | 2.8 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–BWI | Knoxville to Baltimore | 148 | 92.6% | -4.8 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–BOS | Knoxville to Boston | 147 | 91.2% | -8.6 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–EWR | Knoxville to Newark | 146 | 89.7% | -2.9 min | 1.4% |
| TYS–LGA | Knoxville to New York | 139 | 75.5% | 14.9 min | 0.7% |
| TYS–PHX | Knoxville to Phoenix | 122 | 76.2% | 6.1 min | 0.0% |
| TYS–VPS | Knoxville to Valparaiso | 121 | 79.3% | 7.4 min | 0.0% |
The 21 busiest of 38 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 271 departures, 5 am to 6 am had the highest on-time share (90.3% of 739 flights) and 7 pm to 8 pm the lowest (62.9% of 407).
Delay causes
Cancellations by reported reason (285 in the period): air carrier 18%, weather 72%, national aviation system 11%, security 0%.
Checkpoint volumes
TSA publishes daily checkpoint passenger counts for the country as a whole, not for TYS on its own. The national series through September 2026 is on the checkpoint volumes page.
Questions and answers
How often do flights leave TYS on time?
76.3% of the 13,561 scheduled domestic departures in the 12 months to July 2026 left less than 15 minutes late; the national figure was 76.1%. 2.1% were cancelled.
How often do flights arrive at TYS on time?
70.9% of 13,563 scheduled arrivals were on time by the BTS definition, against 76.0% nationally.
Which airline has the highest on-time share at TYS?
Counting departures from TYS and whether they reached their destination on time, Delta Air Lines had the highest share (86.1% of 1,720 flights), then United Airlines (83.8%) and Envoy Air (80.6%). Carriers fly different routes at different hours, so the figures are not a like-for-like test.
What causes delays at TYS?
For departures from TYS that reached their destination 15 or more minutes late, carriers attributed the delay minutes as follows: late-arriving aircraft 40%, air carrier 36%, national aviation system 15%, extreme weather 9%, security 0%.
What time of day has the highest on-time share at TYS?
Departures scheduled from 5 am to 6 am local time left on time 90.3% of the time, the highest of any hour with enough flights to compare; 7 pm to 8 pm was lowest at 62.9%.
Is it getting better?
On-time departures for the 12 months to July 2026 were 76.3%, down 3.5 points on the previous 12 months (79.8%). 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 TYS?
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.