Airport month record
MKEOCT
Milwaukee Mitchell International in October 2025
- Departures
- 2,564
- Month
- October 2025
- National, same month
- 79.7%
- Carriers
- 8
Historical statistics for October 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s October. For today’s conditions at MKE, see live FAA status.
MKE in October lands a B+, level with the national rate of 79.7%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by a little over an hour on average. That rests on 2,564 flights, of which Delta Air Lines flew 381 at 90.6% on time.
Delta Air Lines is the most reliable of the three carriers covered here at 90.6% on time across 381 flights.
Key figures
On time
79.6%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 2,553 completed departures
Avg delay
79 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
0.31%
Nationally in October: 0.53%
Whole year
78.1%
MKE across all twelve months
These figures cover 2,564 departures from Milwaukee Mitchell International in October 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
October next to MKE's other months
Against MKE's own year, October ran 2 points better than the twelve-month rate of 78.1%, which makes it number five of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for MKE in October, at 0.31% against 2.41% across the year. Either side of it, September ran 83.0% on time and November 79.2%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 2,315 | 83.0% | 64 min | 0.56% | B+ |
| October 2025 (this page) | 2,564 | 79.6% | 79 min | 0.31% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 2,230 | 79.2% | 81 min | 4.26% | B− |
| December 2025 | 2,273 | 70.1% | 92 min | 1.89% | C |
| January 2026 | 2,077 | 73.8% | 78 min | 3.71% | C− |
| February 2026 | 2,033 | 82.7% | 79 min | 1.33% | B |
| March 2026 | 2,626 | 74.3% | 98 min | 6.25% | C− |
| April 2026 | 2,588 | 80.7% | 86 min | 2.20% | B |
| May 2026 | 2,735 | 80.6% | 65 min | 0.73% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 2,657 | 79.2% | 72 min | 2.11% | B |
| July 2026 | 2,759 | 76.5% | 82 min | 2.97% | B |
| August 2026 | 2,715 | 77.2% | 85 min | 2.62% | B |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave MKE in October
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 24 points, against 21 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am714 flights89.3%
- 8am–11am343 flights80.6%
- 11am–2pm492 flights78.3%
- 2pm–5pm535 flights77.3%
- 5pm–8pm404 flights68.9%
- 8pm–5am76 flights65.3%
Scale runs 55% to 95%.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 89.3% of the time, against 65.3% for the overnight window. That is 24 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 5am–8am window is the busiest, with 714 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 86.4% on time and Monday the weakest at 71.5%, a spread of 15 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at MKE in October
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Delta Air Lines arrives on time 90.6% of the time; SkyWest Airlines manages 69.2%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 611 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 878 | 83.6% | 56 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| SkyWest Airlines | 611 | 69.2% | 85 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| Delta Air Lines | 381 | 90.6% | 97 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| American Airlinesthin sample | 184 | 82.9% | 120 min | 1.63% | B |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 182 | 69.7% | 84 min | 2.20% | C |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 155 | 86.4% | 129 min | 0.65% | A+ |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 80 | 81.0% | 42 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 34 | 76.5% | 29 min | 0.00% | B+ |
The spread between Delta and SkyWest is 21 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 21 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of MKE in October
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKE to ORD · Chicago | 463 | 61.8% | 85 min | 0.00% | D+ |
| MKE to DEN · Denverthin sample | 233 | 84.1% | 67 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 201 | 94.0% | 74 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 136 | 89.7% | 75 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 126 | 87.3% | 134 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 120 | 89.2% | 169 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 116 | 75.9% | 107 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 109 | 84.4% | 58 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 103 | 78.4% | 58 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 92 | 78.9% | 42 min | 2.17% | B |
| MKE to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 89 | 77.5% | 71 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 87 | 89.7% | 51 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 83 | 75.6% | 107 min | 1.20% | B |
| MKE to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 82 | 48.8% | 73 min | 2.44% | F |
| MKE to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 79 | 88.5% | 80 min | 1.27% | A |
| MKE to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 79 | 89.7% | 122 min | 1.27% | A |
| MKE to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 57 | 96.5% | 35 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to RSW · Fort Myersthin sample | 47 | 87.2% | 24 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 35 | 79.4% | 57 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 34 | 76.5% | 29 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to TPA · Tampathin sample | 31 | 77.4% | 27 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| MKE to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 31 | 93.5% | 48 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| MKE to MCI · Kansas Citythin sample | 31 | 83.9% | 47 min | 0.00% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held MKE up in October
Carrier accounts for 47% of the 41,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 47%Carrier
- 29%Late-arriving aircraft
- 22%National Airspace System
- 2%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
The largest share of delay minutes, 47%, falls under carrier control: crew scheduling, maintenance, fuelling, baggage. It accounts for 19,000 of the 41,000 delay minutes reported here. The split is drawn from 41,134 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations are rare at 0.31%, below the national 0.53% and low enough to earn the plus on the grade. Roughly one flight in 100 is called off; the risk here is arriving late, not not arriving.
7.6% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 6.3%, so a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from MKE in October
For a October trip through MKE: expect 79.6% on time and 0.31% cancelled, going by October 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Milwaukee Mitchell International (MKE), the whole year
- MKE in September83.0%
- MKE in November79.2%
- MKE in December70.1%
- MKE in January73.8%
- MKE in February82.7%
- MKE in March74.3%
- MKE in April80.7%
- MKE in May80.6%
- MKE in June79.2%
- MKE in July76.5%
- MKE in August77.2%
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.