Airport month record
MEMDEC
Memphis International in December 2025
- Departures
- 1,956
- Month
- December 2025
- National, same month
- 73.2%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for December 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s December. For today’s conditions at MEM, see live FAA status.
MEM in December lands a B, 5 points better than the national rate of 73.2%. Roughly one flight in four arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by an hour and a half on average. That rests on 1,956 flights, with a median arrival 7 minutes early.
Set against the rest of the country, MEM's December record is 5 points better than the US average of 73.2%. That gap is worth roughly 45 fewer late arrivals for every thousand flights.
Key figures
On time
77.7%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 1,924 completed departures
Avg delay
83 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.48%
Nationally in December: 1.55%
Whole year
80.0%
MEM across all twelve months
These figures cover 1,956 departures from Memphis International 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 MEM's other months
Against MEM's own year, December ran 2 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 80.0%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, November ran 80.0% on time and January 79.7%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 2,059 | 87.5% | 68 min | 0.19% | A+ |
| October 2025 | 2,283 | 82.8% | 64 min | 0.48% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 1,991 | 80.0% | 74 min | 1.96% | B |
| December 2025 (this page) | 1,956 | 77.7% | 83 min | 1.48% | B |
| January 2026 | 1,727 | 79.7% | 97 min | 9.50% | B− |
| February 2026 | 1,609 | 85.3% | 73 min | 1.74% | A |
| March 2026 | 2,053 | 77.1% | 100 min | 3.60% | B− |
| April 2026 | 2,146 | 82.1% | 84 min | 0.98% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 2,228 | 79.8% | 85 min | 1.08% | B |
| June 2026 | 2,221 | 76.4% | 88 min | 2.34% | B |
| July 2026 | 2,259 | 74.1% | 74 min | 3.01% | C− |
| August 2026 | 2,105 | 78.7% | 89 min | 2.14% | B |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave MEM in December
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 25 points, against half a point between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am638 flights87.8%
- 8am–11am313 flights77.5%
- 11am–2pm295 flights75.8%
- 2pm–5pm315 flights69.7%
- 5pm–8pm307 flights71.0%
- 8pm–5am88 flights63.2%
Scale runs 55% to 95%.
The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 63.2% on time, against 87.8% 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 638 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 85.8% on time and Sunday the weakest at 63.8%, a spread of 22 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at MEM 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.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlinesthin sample | 348 | 76.4% | 73 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 346 | 81.0% | 51 min | 0.58% | B+ |
| Delta Air Linesthin sample | 328 | 86.9% | 82 min | 2.13% | A |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 267 | 73.3% | 126 min | 1.87% | C |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 256 | 77.0% | 81 min | 2.73% | B |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 110 | 78.9% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 104 | 70.6% | 78 min | 1.92% | C |
| Envoy Airthin sample | 86 | 67.5% | 69 min | 3.49% | C− |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 49 | 83.3% | 59 min | 2.04% | B |
| Allegiant Airthin sample | 41 | 48.8% | 129 min | 0.00% | F+ |
Route by route
Busiest routes out of MEM in December
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEM to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 261 | 87.7% | 90 min | 3.07% | A− |
| MEM to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 202 | 71.4% | 79 min | 2.48% | C |
| MEM to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 182 | 72.0% | 68 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MEM to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 145 | 84.1% | 60 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to DEN · Denverthin sample | 106 | 77.1% | 65 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 87 | 78.8% | 76 min | 2.30% | B |
| MEM to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 78 | 69.2% | 142 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MEM to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 73 | 71.0% | 75 min | 4.11% | C− |
| MEM to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 73 | 84.5% | 50 min | 2.74% | B |
| MEM to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 71 | 79.4% | 131 min | 4.23% | B− |
| MEM to HOU · Houstonthin sample | 61 | 83.6% | 63 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 60 | 74.6% | 144 min | 1.67% | C |
| MEM to MIA · Miamithin sample | 58 | 74.1% | 66 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| MEM to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 58 | 84.5% | 53 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 57 | 87.7% | 46 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MEM to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 48 | 64.6% | 92 min | 0.00% | D+ |
| MEM to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 47 | 66.7% | 90 min | 4.26% | C− |
| MEM to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 44 | 84.1% | 30 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 32 | 74.2% | 73 min | 3.12% | C− |
| MEM to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 31 | 80.6% | 153 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MEM to AUS · Austinthin sample | 31 | 90.0% | 78 min | 3.23% | A− |
| MEM to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 31 | 64.5% | 48 min | 0.00% | D+ |
Delay causes
What held MEM up in December
Carriers report a reason for every delay minute they cause, in five DOT categories. The split below is by minutes, not by number of flights, so a handful of very long weather delays weighs as much as many short ones. It covers 36,000 reported delay minutes.
- 40%Late-arriving aircraft
- 39%Carrier
- 18%National Airspace System
- 3%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
40% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 36,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 14 to one. The split is drawn from 35,595 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.48% against a national 1.55%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.15%.
9.5% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 10.0% nationally. Ninety minutes is the honest minimum for a connection here, and two hours if the onward flight is on a separate ticket.
What to do with this
Flying from MEM in December
For a December trip through MEM: expect 77.7% on time and 1.48% cancelled, going by December 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Memphis International (MEM), the whole year
- MEM in September87.5%
- MEM in October82.8%
- MEM in November80.0%
- MEM in January79.7%
- MEM in February85.3%
- MEM in March77.1%
- MEM in April82.1%
- MEM in May79.8%
- MEM in June76.4%
- MEM in July74.1%
- MEM in August78.7%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.