Airport month record

DALAPR

Dallas Love Field in April 2026

Departures: 5,965
Month: April 2026
National, same month: 79.8%
Carriers: 2

Historical statistics for April 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s April. For today’s conditions at DAL, see live FAA status.

DAL in April sits in the middle of the pack with a C+. About seven flights in ten arrive on time by the DOT's definition, 9 points worse than the national rate of 79.8%. The late ones land roughly 50 minutes behind schedule. That rests on 5,965 flights, with a median arrival right on schedule.

The national on-time rate over the same period is 79.8%, so dal in april runs 9 points behind the country as a whole. Across a thousand flights that is about 87 extra late arrivals.

On time

71.1%

Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 5,914 completed departures

Avg delay

51 min

Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights

Cancelled

0.70%

Nationally in April: 0.90%

Whole year

73.2%

DAL across all twelve months

These figures cover 5,965 departures from Dallas Love Field in April 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.

Against the year

April next to DAL's other months

Against DAL's own year, April ran 2 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 73.2%, which makes it number eight of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for DAL in April, at 0.70% against 1.41% across the year. Either side of it, March ran 70.3% on time and May 64.3%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.

DAL month by month
Month	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
July 2025	6,349	68.5%	62 min	1.32%	C
August 2025	5,730	75.5%	61 min	0.54%	B+
September 2025	5,518	81.9%	56 min	0.13%	B+
October 2025	6,100	75.9%	57 min	0.80%	B+
November 2025	5,799	76.4%	62 min	2.71%	B
December 2025	6,070	78.7%	50 min	0.38%	B+
January 2026	5,470	82.8%	49 min	5.54%	B−
February 2026	5,163	79.7%	44 min	0.87%	B+
March 2026	6,221	70.3%	56 min	1.29%	C
April 2026 (this page)	5,965	71.1%	51 min	0.70%	C+
May 2026	6,141	64.3%	62 min	1.69%	D
June 2026	6,025	56.5%	60 min	1.18%	D

Departure window

The best time of day to leave DAL in April

Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 33 points, against half a point between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.

5am–8am755 flights88.0%
8am–11am1,133 flights84.5%
11am–2pm1,109 flights72.1%
2pm–5pm1,096 flights68.1%
5pm–8pm1,031 flights59.3%
8pm–5am841 flights54.9%

Scale runs 45% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.

The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 54.9% on time, against 88.0% for the 5am–8am slot. By evening the aircraft flying these rotations have absorbed a full day of small delays and there is no slack left to recover in. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 1,133 flights scheduled in it.

Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 79.1% on time and Thursday the weakest at 61.7%. 17 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.

Carrier by carrier

Which airlines ran best at DAL in April

Only one carrier clears this site's 365-flight floor here, so there is no comparison to draw. The table below is the full picture.

Carriers at DAL in April 2026
Airline	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
Southwest Airlines	5,819	70.8%	51 min	0.62%	C+
Delta Air Linesthin sample	146	82.0%	74 min	4.11%	B−

Route by route

Busiest routes out of DAL in April

Routes from DAL in April 2026
Route	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
DAL to HOU · Houstonthin sample	346	69.9%	53 min	0.29%	C+
DAL to ATL · Atlantathin sample	263	75.2%	62 min	3.04%	B−
DAL to DEN · Denverthin sample	254	71.5%	61 min	0.39%	C+
DAL to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample	251	68.7%	42 min	0.40%	C+
DAL to PHX · Phoenixthin sample	250	70.3%	52 min	1.60%	C
DAL to SAT · San Antoniothin sample	250	76.9%	44 min	0.80%	B+
DAL to MCO · Orlandothin sample	230	73.2%	46 min	0.87%	C+
DAL to BNA · Nashvillethin sample	200	65.2%	48 min	1.00%	C
DAL to AUS · Austinthin sample	200	73.5%	58 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to MSY · New Orleansthin sample	195	77.4%	59 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample	180	73.4%	48 min	1.67%	C
DAL to MDW · Chicagothin sample	172	69.6%	52 min	1.74%	C
DAL to STL · St. Louisthin sample	159	74.7%	67 min	1.26%	C
DAL to BWI · Baltimorethin sample	143	76.1%	55 min	0.70%	B+
DAL to DCA · Washingtonthin sample	143	64.3%	66 min	0.00%	D+
DAL to ELP · El Pasothin sample	142	71.1%	42 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to LGA · New Yorkthin sample	141	57.1%	48 min	0.00%	D+
DAL to ABQ · Albuquerquethin sample	134	75.0%	43 min	1.49%	B
DAL to SAN · San Diegothin sample	130	70.0%	46 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample	129	61.7%	54 min	0.00%	D+
DAL to LBB · Lubbockthin sample	115	86.1%	63 min	0.00%	A+
DAL to TPA · Tampathin sample	110	71.8%	48 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to MAF · Midlandthin sample	107	71.0%	52 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to AMA · Amarillothin sample	99	73.7%	52 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to BHM · Birminghamthin sample	86	68.2%	50 min	1.16%	C

Delay causes

What held DAL up in April

One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 49% of the 88,000 delay minutes carriers reported, and the remaining four split what is left. The split is by minutes rather than by flights, so a few very long delays count for as much as many short ones.

Late-arriving aircraft
49%
Carrier
30%
National Airspace System
18%
Extreme weather
4%
Security
0%

49% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. That is a cascade, and cascades start small and grow through the day. Across 88,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 13 to one. It is the strongest argument for booking the first departure of the morning, when the aircraft has been sitting at the gate overnight with nothing to inherit. The split is drawn from 87,698 reported delay minutes.

Cancellations are rare at 0.70%, below the national 0.90% and low enough to earn the plus on the grade. Roughly one flight in 100 is called off; the risk here is arriving late, not not arriving.

7.9% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 6.4%. That is the figure that decides a connection, and it says a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last roughly 50 minutes, which a normal layover absorbs.

What to do with this

Flying from DAL in April

For a April trip through DAL: expect 71.1% on time and 0.70% cancelled, going by April 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.

Where to go next

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.

Key figures