Airport month record
MCIMAY
Kansas City International in May 2026
- Departures
- 4,354
- 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 MCI, see live FAA status.
MCI in May lands a B, about a point 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 4,354 flights, of which Delta Air Lines flew 710 at 89.7% on time.
Delta Air Lines is the most reliable of the four carriers covered here at 89.7% on time across 710 flights.
Key figures
On time
79.5%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 4,289 completed departures
Avg delay
65 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.10%
Nationally in May: 0.92%
Whole year
79.6%
MCI across all twelve months
These figures cover 4,354 departures from Kansas City International 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 MCI's other months
Against MCI's own year, May ran level with the twelve-month rate of 79.6%, which makes it number eight of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, April ran 81.9% on time and June 76.7%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 4,442 | 73.2% | 79 min | 1.96% | C |
| August 2025 | 4,113 | 79.7% | 64 min | 0.92% | B+ |
| September 2025 | 3,928 | 82.0% | 58 min | 0.33% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 4,214 | 80.3% | 58 min | 0.33% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 3,956 | 81.1% | 72 min | 1.82% | B |
| December 2025 | 3,969 | 74.5% | 83 min | 1.36% | C |
| January 2026 | 3,508 | 84.3% | 81 min | 3.39% | B− |
| February 2026 | 3,503 | 84.9% | 69 min | 1.48% | B |
| March 2026 | 4,227 | 79.3% | 75 min | 3.41% | B− |
| April 2026 | 4,184 | 81.9% | 70 min | 0.98% | B+ |
| May 2026 (this page) | 4,354 | 79.5% | 65 min | 1.10% | B |
| June 2026 | 4,581 | 76.7% | 73 min | 1.24% | B |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave MCI in May
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 32 points, against 15 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,100 flights91.1%
- 8am–11am736 flights87.1%
- 11am–2pm622 flights81.4%
- 2pm–5pm828 flights73.3%
- 5pm–8pm896 flights67.0%
- 8pm–5am172 flights58.7%
Scale runs 50% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 58.7% on time, against 91.1% 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 5am–8am window is the busiest, with 1,100 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 88.0% on time and Monday the weakest at 68.9%. 19 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at MCI in May
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Delta Air Lines arrives on time 89.7% of the time; Southwest Airlines manages 74.3%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 1,986 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 1,986 | 74.3% | 51 min | 0.60% | C+ |
| Delta Air Lines | 710 | 89.7% | 86 min | 2.25% | A |
| United Airlines | 406 | 80.8% | 67 min | 0.99% | B+ |
| American Airlines | 401 | 79.9% | 68 min | 1.75% | B |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 263 | 81.0% | 128 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| Envoy Airthin sample | 166 | 86.6% | 48 min | 1.20% | A |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 113 | 75.5% | 117 min | 3.54% | B− |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 113 | 90.9% | 61 min | 1.77% | A |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 109 | 92.7% | 45 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 49 | 65.3% | 144 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| Allegiant Airthin sample | 36 | 57.1% | 40 min | 2.78% | D |
The spread between Delta 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 MCI in May
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCI to ORD · Chicago | 413 | 79.4% | 110 min | 1.21% | B |
| MCI to DEN · Denver | 381 | 79.9% | 71 min | 0.52% | B+ |
| MCI to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 285 | 84.0% | 71 min | 1.05% | B |
| MCI to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 218 | 75.4% | 72 min | 4.59% | B− |
| MCI to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 204 | 78.3% | 56 min | 0.49% | B+ |
| MCI to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 179 | 76.0% | 75 min | 1.12% | B |
| MCI to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 177 | 74.4% | 51 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MCI to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 168 | 79.3% | 68 min | 2.38% | B |
| MCI to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 165 | 66.2% | 80 min | 1.21% | C |
| MCI to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 157 | 74.7% | 46 min | 1.27% | C |
| MCI to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 135 | 80.9% | 63 min | 2.96% | B |
| MCI to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 119 | 71.4% | 50 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MCI to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 117 | 93.8% | 80 min | 3.42% | A− |
| MCI to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 109 | 90.7% | 55 min | 0.92% | A+ |
| MCI to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 106 | 76.9% | 35 min | 1.89% | B |
| MCI to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 104 | 83.7% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MCI to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 102 | 89.0% | 45 min | 1.96% | A |
| MCI to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 93 | 90.2% | 43 min | 1.08% | A |
| MCI to HOU · Houstonthin sample | 92 | 79.3% | 34 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MCI to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 88 | 81.4% | 48 min | 1.14% | B |
| MCI to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 87 | 94.1% | 36 min | 1.15% | A |
| MCI to MIA · Miamithin sample | 86 | 86.0% | 43 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MCI to AUS · Austinthin sample | 80 | 79.5% | 57 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MCI to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 68 | 77.9% | 79 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MCI to TPA · Tampathin sample | 67 | 72.7% | 42 min | 0.00% | C+ |
Delay causes
What held MCI up in May
One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 45% of the 57,000 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.
- 45%Late-arriving aircraft
- 30%Carrier
- 19%National Airspace System
- 6%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
45% 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 57,000 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 56,838 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.10% against a national 0.92%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.39%.
5.9% 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 MCI in May
For a May trip through MCI: expect 79.5% on time and 1.10% cancelled, going by May 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Kansas City International (MCI), the whole year
- MCI in July73.2%
- MCI in August79.7%
- MCI in September82.0%
- MCI in October80.3%
- MCI in November81.1%
- MCI in December74.5%
- MCI in January84.3%
- MCI in February84.9%
- MCI in March79.3%
- MCI in April81.9%
- MCI in June76.7%
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.