Airport month record
DTWMAY
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in May 2026
- Departures
- 10,112
- Month
- May 2026
- National, same month
- 78.6%
- Carriers
- 11
Historical statistics for May 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s May. For today’s conditions at DTW, see live FAA status.
DTW in May lands a B, 2 points better than the national rate of 78.6%. 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 10,112 flights, of which American Airlines flew 438 at 85.6% on time.
American Airlines is the most reliable of the five carriers covered here at 85.6% on time across 438 flights.
Key figures
On time
80.9%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 9,967 completed departures
Avg delay
68 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.27%
Nationally in May: 0.92%
Whole year
76.9%
DTW across all twelve months
These figures cover 10,112 departures from Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County in May 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
May next to DTW's other months
Against DTW's own year, May ran 4 points better than the twelve-month rate of 76.9%, which makes it number five of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, April ran 81.1% on time and June 79.1%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| 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 | 10,417 | 81.1% | 65 min | 1.27% | B |
| May 2026 (this page) | 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 May
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 20 points, against 15 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,165 flights93.4%
- 8am–11am2,581 flights86.1%
- 11am–2pm1,281 flights81.6%
- 2pm–5pm2,080 flights77.8%
- 5pm–8pm1,243 flights73.1%
- 8pm–5am1,762 flights73.4%
Scale runs 65% to 100%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 93.4% of the time, against 73.1% for the evening window. That is 20 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 2,581 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 82.6% on time and Monday the weakest at 76.5%. 6 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at DTW in May
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. American Airlines arrives on time 85.6% of the time; Southwest Airlines manages 70.2%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 400 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 5,432 | 80.1% | 62 min | 1.62% | B |
| SkyWest Airlines | 2,316 | 81.8% | 83 min | 0.69% | B+ |
| Republic Airways | 578 | 85.4% | 71 min | 1.73% | A |
| American Airlines | 438 | 85.6% | 106 min | 1.14% | A |
| Southwest Airlines | 400 | 70.2% | 46 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 267 | 79.3% | 56 min | 0.37% | B+ |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 202 | 81.1% | 82 min | 0.50% | B+ |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 171 | 83.1% | 81 min | 2.34% | B |
| Envoy Airthin sample | 135 | 86.6% | 71 min | 0.74% | A+ |
| JetBlue Airwaysthin sample | 97 | 87.6% | 66 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 62 | 90.3% | 44 min | 0.00% | A+ |
The spread between American and Southwest is 15 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 15 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of DTW in May
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DTW to ORD · Chicago | 600 | 79.6% | 79 min | 1.83% | B |
| DTW to ATL · Atlanta | 400 | 77.4% | 58 min | 0.25% | B+ |
| DTW to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 300 | 76.1% | 64 min | 2.33% | B |
| DTW to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 296 | 87.7% | 124 min | 0.68% | A+ |
| DTW to DEN · Denverthin sample | 281 | 86.0% | 53 min | 0.71% | A+ |
| DTW to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 270 | 80.8% | 61 min | 1.85% | B |
| DTW to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 260 | 88.1% | 91 min | 2.69% | A |
| DTW to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 257 | 75.0% | 74 min | 1.56% | B |
| DTW to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 248 | 85.0% | 75 min | 2.82% | A |
| DTW to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 226 | 76.5% | 52 min | 1.77% | B |
| DTW to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 224 | 79.4% | 57 min | 0.45% | B+ |
| DTW to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 217 | 80.1% | 60 min | 0.46% | B+ |
| DTW to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 216 | 80.5% | 62 min | 0.46% | B+ |
| DTW to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 216 | 75.9% | 65 min | 1.85% | B |
| DTW to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 206 | 75.6% | 68 min | 0.49% | B+ |
| DTW to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 206 | 80.2% | 60 min | 1.94% | B |
| DTW to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 186 | 82.4% | 46 min | 1.61% | B |
| DTW to GRR · Grand Rapidsthin sample | 186 | 84.3% | 80 min | 0.54% | B+ |
| DTW to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 182 | 75.1% | 58 min | 0.55% | B+ |
| DTW to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 182 | 73.9% | 51 min | 1.10% | C |
| DTW to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 179 | 78.9% | 59 min | 1.68% | B |
| DTW to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 156 | 89.7% | 36 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| DTW to SFO · San Franciscothin sample | 156 | 58.3% | 55 min | 0.00% | D+ |
| DTW to CMH · Columbusthin sample | 151 | 88.0% | 89 min | 0.66% | A+ |
| DTW to MKE · Milwaukeethin sample | 148 | 76.9% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held DTW up in May
One category carries most of the weight here. Carrier accounts for 53% of the 130,000 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.
- 53%Carrier
- 19%Late-arriving aircraft
- 19%National Airspace System
- 9%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
The largest share of delay minutes, 53%, 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 69,000 of the 130,000 delay minutes reported here. The split is drawn from 129,531 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.27% against a national 0.92%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.17%.
6.8% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 7.1%. 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 May
For a May trip through DTW: expect 80.9% on time and 1.27% cancelled, going by May 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- 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 April81.1%
- 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.