Airport month record

DALDEC

Dallas Love Field in December 2025

Departures: 6,070
Month: December 2025
National, same month: 73.2%
Carriers: 2

Historical statistics for December 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s December. For today’s conditions at DAL, see live FAA status.

DAL in December lands a B+, 6 points better than the national rate of 73.2%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by about 50 minutes on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 6,070 flights, with a median arrival 3 minutes early.

Set against the rest of the country, DAL's December record is 6 points better than the US average of 73.2%. That gap is worth roughly 55 fewer late arrivals for every thousand flights.

On time

78.7%

Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 6,037 completed departures

Avg delay

50 min

Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights

Cancelled

0.38%

Nationally in December: 1.55%

Whole year

73.2%

DAL across all twelve months

These figures cover 6,070 departures from Dallas Love Field in December 2025. 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

December next to DAL's other months

Against DAL's own year, December ran 6 points better than the twelve-month rate of 73.2%, which makes it number four of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for DAL in December, at 0.38% against 1.41% across the year. Either side of it, November ran 76.4% on time and January 82.8%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.

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 (this page)	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	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 December

Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 31 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–8am673 flights94.0%
8am–11am1,261 flights91.1%
11am–2pm1,139 flights80.5%
2pm–5pm1,182 flights76.8%
5pm–8pm1,059 flights65.3%
8pm–5am756 flights63.4%

Scale runs 55% to 100%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.

The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 63.4% on time, against 94.0% 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 1,261 flights scheduled in it.

Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 84.3% on time and Saturday the weakest at 71.6%. 13 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.

Carrier by carrier

Which airlines ran best at DAL in December

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 December 2025
Airline	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
Southwest Airlines	5,926	78.6%	49 min	0.35%	B+
Delta Air Linesthin sample	144	83.8%	88 min	1.39%	B

Route by route

Busiest routes out of DAL in December

Routes from DAL in December 2025
Route	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
DAL to HOU · Houstonthin sample	314	83.3%	46 min	0.96%	B+
DAL to PHX · Phoenixthin sample	276	84.6%	41 min	1.09%	B
DAL to ATL · Atlantathin sample	270	84.0%	64 min	0.74%	B+
DAL to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample	257	79.3%	48 min	0.39%	B+
DAL to DEN · Denverthin sample	255	70.6%	57 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to MCO · Orlandothin sample	236	76.8%	55 min	0.42%	B+
DAL to SAT · San Antoniothin sample	227	82.8%	43 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to BNA · Nashvillethin sample	211	81.9%	48 min	0.47%	B+
DAL to MDW · Chicagothin sample	191	73.0%	50 min	0.52%	C+
DAL to MSY · New Orleansthin sample	190	80.4%	43 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to AUS · Austinthin sample	185	82.2%	40 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample	180	79.3%	44 min	0.56%	B+
DAL to BWI · Baltimorethin sample	165	79.3%	40 min	0.61%	B+
DAL to ELP · El Pasothin sample	162	77.2%	51 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to STL · St. Louisthin sample	154	90.2%	51 min	0.65%	A+
DAL to DCA · Washingtonthin sample	149	78.5%	41 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to LBB · Lubbockthin sample	141	79.4%	51 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to SAN · San Diegothin sample	138	74.3%	59 min	0.72%	C+
DAL to ABQ · Albuquerquethin sample	137	83.9%	40 min	0.00%	B+
DAL to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample	135	68.9%	40 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to MAF · Midlandthin sample	134	86.6%	33 min	0.00%	A+
DAL to LGA · New Yorkthin sample	133	59.5%	89 min	1.50%	D
DAL to AMA · Amarillothin sample	111	87.3%	48 min	0.00%	A+
DAL to TPA · Tampathin sample	110	73.6%	53 min	0.00%	C+
DAL to BHM · Birminghamthin sample	91	80.2%	59 min	0.00%	B+

Delay causes

What held DAL up in December

One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 47% of the 64,000 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
47%
Carrier
38%
National Airspace System
12%
Extreme weather
2%
Security
0%

47% 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 64,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 23 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 64,362 reported delay minutes.

Cancellations are rare at 0.38%, below the national 1.55% 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.

5.3% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 10.0%. 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 about 50 minutes, which a normal layover absorbs.

What to do with this

Flying from DAL in December

For a December trip through DAL: expect 78.7% on time and 0.38% cancelled, going by December 2025. 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