Airport month record

DTWAPR

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in April 2026

Departures: 10,417
Month: April 2026
National, same month: 79.8%
Carriers: 12

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

DTW in April lands a B, about a point better than the national rate of 79.8%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by about an hour on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 10,417 flights, of which American Airlines flew 428 at 87.0% on time.

American Airlines is the most reliable of the six carriers covered here at 87.0% on time across 428 flights.

On time

81.1%

Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 10,264 completed departures

Avg delay

65 min

Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights

Cancelled

1.27%

Nationally in April: 0.90%

Whole year

76.9%

DTW across all twelve months

These figures cover 10,417 departures from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County 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 DTW's other months

Against DTW's own year, April ran 4 points better than the twelve-month rate of 76.9%, which makes it number four of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, March ran 71.6% on time and May 80.9%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.

DTW month by month
Month	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
July 2025	11,248	73.0%	80 min	1.97%	C
August 2025	10,916	81.3%	68 min	0.58%	B+
September 2025	10,014	87.1%	67 min	0.19%	A+
October 2025	10,950	85.3%	66 min	0.27%	A+
November 2025	9,887	78.4%	78 min	2.59%	B
December 2025	9,934	62.0%	87 min	2.52%	D
January 2026	9,518	64.8%	83 min	3.92%	D−
February 2026	9,122	75.7%	77 min	2.13%	B
March 2026	10,701	71.6%	87 min	4.02%	C−
April 2026 (this page)	10,417	81.1%	65 min	1.27%	B
May 2026	10,112	80.9%	68 min	1.27%	B
June 2026	9,869	79.1%	73 min	1.43%	B

Departure window

The best time of day to leave DTW in April

Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 14 points, against 24 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.

5am–8am1,274 flights88.7%
8am–11am2,436 flights87.3%
11am–2pm1,355 flights84.4%
2pm–5pm2,055 flights77.2%
5pm–8pm1,300 flights74.4%
8pm–5am1,997 flights74.9%

Scale runs 65% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.

Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 88.7% of the time, against 74.4% for the evening window. That is 14 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 2,436 flights scheduled in it.

Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 86.8% on time and Friday the weakest at 75.8%. 11 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.

Carrier by carrier

Which airlines ran best at DTW in April

The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. American Airlines arrives on time 87.0% of the time; Spirit Airlines manages 63.0%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 575 flights means less than a ten-point one.

Carriers at DTW in April 2026
Airline	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
Delta Air Lines	5,070	82.7%	56 min	0.75%	B+
SkyWest Airlines	2,586	80.1%	72 min	2.55%	B
Spirit Airlines	575	63.0%	75 min	1.39%	D
Republic Airways	478	83.2%	78 min	1.26%	B
American Airlines	428	87.0%	87 min	1.17%	A
Southwest Airlines	391	80.8%	44 min	0.26%	B+
Frontier Airlinesthin sample	298	75.3%	80 min	0.67%	B+
United Airlinesthin sample	205	92.7%	100 min	0.00%	A+
PSA Airlinesthin sample	152	85.9%	90 min	1.32%	A
Envoy Airthin sample	125	79.3%	80 min	3.20%	B−
JetBlue Airwaysthin sample	70	84.3%	45 min	0.00%	B+
Alaska Airlinesthin sample	39	92.3%	47 min	0.00%	A+

The spread between American and Spirit is 24 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 24 more arrivals inside the on-time window.

Route by route

Busiest routes out of DTW in April

Routes from DTW in April 2026
Route	Flights	On time	Avg delay	Cancelled	Grade
DTW to ORD · Chicago	568	76.6%	109 min	3.70%	B−
DTW to ATL · Atlanta	428	85.1%	70 min	0.70%	A+
DTW to MCO · Orlandothin sample	343	82.4%	65 min	0.87%	B+
DTW to LGA · New Yorkthin sample	333	76.5%	59 min	0.30%	B+
DTW to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample	300	79.1%	52 min	0.67%	B+
DTW to CLT · Charlottethin sample	293	89.3%	78 min	0.68%	A+
DTW to EWR · Newarkthin sample	279	80.6%	60 min	0.36%	B+
DTW to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample	272	72.9%	71 min	1.10%	C
DTW to DCA · Washingtonthin sample	262	71.4%	58 min	1.15%	C
DTW to DEN · Denverthin sample	258	88.8%	32 min	0.00%	A+
DTW to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample	248	75.6%	46 min	0.81%	B+
DTW to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample	233	84.1%	69 min	1.72%	B
DTW to TPA · Tampathin sample	229	77.0%	54 min	0.87%	B+
DTW to PHX · Phoenixthin sample	211	81.0%	95 min	0.00%	B+
DTW to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample	209	70.0%	56 min	0.96%	C+
DTW to RSW · Fort Myersthin sample	209	71.6%	47 min	0.48%	C+
DTW to BNA · Nashvillethin sample	201	85.5%	48 min	0.50%	A+
DTW to BOS · Bostonthin sample	200	74.4%	52 min	0.50%	C+
DTW to IAH · Houstonthin sample	181	79.4%	79 min	0.55%	B+
DTW to BWI · Baltimorethin sample	175	84.4%	45 min	1.14%	B
DTW to STL · St. Louisthin sample	167	81.2%	42 min	0.00%	B+
DTW to MIA · Miamithin sample	162	86.8%	57 min	1.23%	A
DTW to SEA · Seattlethin sample	155	81.9%	39 min	0.00%	B+
DTW to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample	150	86.7%	38 min	0.00%	A+
DTW to SFO · San Franciscothin sample	146	67.6%	47 min	0.68%	C+

Delay causes

What held DTW up in April

One category carries most of the weight here. Carrier accounts for 51% of the 126,000 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.

Carrier
51%
National Airspace System
24%
Late-arriving aircraft
19%
Extreme weather
6%
Security
0%

The largest share of delay minutes, 51%, falls under carrier control: crew scheduling, maintenance, fuelling, baggage. Unlike weather, that is a management outcome, and it is the category where the gap between two carriers on the same schedule is genuinely earned. It accounts for 64,000 of the 126,000 delay minutes reported here. The split is drawn from 126,452 reported delay minutes.

Cancellations sit at 1.27% against a national 0.90%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.20%.

5.9% 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 about an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.

What to do with this

Flying from DTW in April

For a April trip through DTW: expect 81.1% on time and 1.27% cancelled, going by April 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.

Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County (DTW), the whole year
DTW in July73.0%
DTW in August81.3%
DTW in September87.1%
DTW in October85.3%
DTW in November78.4%
DTW in December62.0%
DTW in January64.8%
DTW in February75.7%
DTW in March71.6%
DTW in May80.9%
DTW in June79.1%

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