Airport month record
DALMAR
Dallas Love Field in March 2026
- Departures
- 6,221
- Month
- March 2026
- National, same month
- 75.7%
- Carriers
- 2
Historical statistics for March 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s March. For today’s conditions at DAL, see live FAA status.
DAL in March sits in the middle of the pack with a C. About seven flights in ten arrive on time by the DOT's definition, 5 points worse than the national rate of 75.7%. The late ones land about an hour behind schedule. That rests on 6,221 flights, with a median arrival right on schedule.
The national on-time rate over the same period is 75.7%, so dal in march runs 5 points behind the country as a whole. Across a thousand flights that is about 54 extra late arrivals.
Key figures
On time
70.3%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 6,131 completed departures
Avg delay
56 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.29%
Nationally in March: 2.90%
Whole year
73.2%
DAL across all twelve months
These figures cover 6,221 departures from Dallas Love Field in March 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
March next to DAL's other months
Against DAL's own year, March ran 3 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 73.2%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, February ran 79.7% on time and April 71.1%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| 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 (this page) | 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 March
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–8am859 flights88.6%
- 8am–11am1,033 flights86.1%
- 11am–2pm1,195 flights74.2%
- 2pm–5pm1,082 flights64.6%
- 5pm–8pm1,096 flights55.4%
- 8pm–5am956 flights55.2%
Scale runs 45% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 55.2% on time, against 88.6% 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 11am–2pm window is the busiest, with 1,195 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 79.1% on time and Saturday the weakest at 65.9%. 13 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at DAL in March
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.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 6,072 | 70.0% | 55 min | 1.19% | C |
| Delta Air Linesthin sample | 149 | 82.3% | 126 min | 5.37% | B− |
Route by route
Busiest routes out of DAL in March
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DAL to HOU · Houstonthin sample | 364 | 61.3% | 53 min | 1.37% | D |
| DAL to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 274 | 78.9% | 83 min | 3.28% | B− |
| DAL to DEN · Denverthin sample | 270 | 72.1% | 70 min | 0.37% | C+ |
| DAL to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 266 | 84.0% | 70 min | 1.13% | B |
| DAL to SAT · San Antoniothin sample | 251 | 77.4% | 50 min | 1.20% | B |
| DAL to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 247 | 81.4% | 53 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| DAL to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 245 | 60.4% | 49 min | 3.67% | D− |
| DAL to MSY · New Orleansthin sample | 209 | 77.7% | 60 min | 0.96% | B+ |
| DAL to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 206 | 67.3% | 47 min | 0.49% | C+ |
| DAL to AUS · Austinthin sample | 201 | 73.6% | 58 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| DAL to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample | 183 | 71.8% | 57 min | 1.09% | C |
| DAL to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 171 | 61.3% | 60 min | 1.75% | D |
| DAL to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 166 | 69.5% | 56 min | 1.20% | C |
| DAL to ELP · El Pasothin sample | 151 | 70.2% | 65 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| DAL to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 151 | 54.5% | 66 min | 1.99% | F |
| DAL to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 148 | 63.4% | 59 min | 2.03% | D |
| DAL to ABQ · Albuquerquethin sample | 145 | 78.5% | 44 min | 0.69% | B+ |
| DAL to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 139 | 40.0% | 72 min | 9.35% | F− |
| DAL to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 138 | 81.6% | 51 min | 0.72% | B+ |
| DAL to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 131 | 77.1% | 58 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| DAL to TPA · Tampathin sample | 119 | 65.5% | 53 min | 2.52% | C |
| DAL to LBB · Lubbockthin sample | 118 | 70.1% | 43 min | 0.85% | C+ |
| DAL to MAF · Midlandthin sample | 108 | 83.2% | 62 min | 0.93% | B+ |
| DAL to AMA · Amarillothin sample | 103 | 70.9% | 48 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| DAL to TUL · Tulsathin sample | 89 | 76.4% | 46 min | 0.00% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held DAL up in March
One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 43% of the 103,000 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.
- 43%Late-arriving aircraft
- 32%Carrier
- 20%National Airspace System
- 5%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
43% 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 103,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 8 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 102,562 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.29% against a national 2.90%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.16%.
8.8% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 9.5%. 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 an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from DAL in March
For a March trip through DAL: expect 70.3% on time and 1.29% cancelled, going by March 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Dallas Love Field (DAL), the whole year
- DAL in July68.5%
- DAL in August75.5%
- DAL in September81.9%
- DAL in October75.9%
- DAL in November76.4%
- DAL in December78.7%
- DAL in January82.8%
- DAL in February79.7%
- DAL in April71.1%
- DAL in May64.3%
- DAL in June56.5%
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.