73% of flights leaving Cedar Rapids (CID) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 3 points worse than the national average of 76%. About 27 flights leave CID on a typical day; 2.7% were cancelled. 75% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 5 a.m. (85% on time). Worst: 7 p.m. (59%).
- Best month: September (84%). Worst: January (69%).
- Most reliable airline here: American Airlines (75%), vs United Airlines at 69%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (36% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (77% → 73%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving CID: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 46% of the time. About 1 in 10 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 33 three hours or more; 2.7% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early73%
- 15–30 min late7.2%
- 30–60 min late6.4%
- 1–2 hours late5.0%
- 2–3 hours late2.3%
- 3+ hours late3.0%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled2.7%
Share of all 9,886 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of CID
Time of day matters more at CID than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 85% of the time; at 7 p.m. it was 59%, a 26-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 81% on time against 62% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 7 p.m. departures were cancelled 5.0% of the time, against 2.7% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CID was a 6 a.m. departure in October (92% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in July (42%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
January is the hardest month at CID, with 69% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 84%. Summer (June–August) runs 10 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 9 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.3% of flights).
Airlines at CID
American Airlines runs 44% of departures from CID. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, American Airlines was the most reliable (75% on time) and United Airlines the least (69%), a 7-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 4,391 | 75% | 75% | 3.4% | −9 min |
| United Airlines | 2,946 | 69% | 74% | 2.8% | −1 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,428 | 75% | 76% | 1.8% | −7 min |
| Allegiant Air | 957 | 73% | 75% | 1.0% | −5 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 164 | 82% | 82% | 1.2% | −13 min |
Why flights are late at CID
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CID, 36% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 36%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 270 cancellations, 73% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 17 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 73% of CID departures were on time, against 77% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was October 2025 (81%); the worst, December 2025 (61%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Dec 27, 2025, when 69% of 26 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 27, 2025 | 26 | 69% | 12% |
| Nov 29, 2025 | 29 | 69% | 7% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 30 | 60% | 10% |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 27 | 48% | 7% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 29 | 41% | 31% |
| Nov 30, 2025 | 36 | 25% | 14% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 26 | 23% | 46% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 21 | 19% | 67% |
| Apr 2, 2026 | 27 | 19% | 30% |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 28 | 18% | 7% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CID, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.4% of the time, against 2.5% for its earlier flights (1.4× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.5% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (7.1% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 6:33 p.m. | 7.1% | 3.3% | 49% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 6:48 p.m. | 6.6% | 2.2% | 62% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 6:04 p.m. | 3.9% | 2.5% | 68% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 4:19 p.m. | 1.4% | 2.7% | 64% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 6:05 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.2% | 73% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 2:40 p.m. | 0.9% | 2.0% | 81% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of CID
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CID the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in January? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? American Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of CID; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at CID come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from CID
Where you're going matters too. From CID, the most reliable busy route was to Denver (DEN, 78% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 67%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 3,537 | 67% | 4.1% | −2 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,056 | 72% | 1.7% | −6 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,190 | 77% | 2.5% | −10 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,154 | 78% | 0.9% | −5 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 772 | 81% | 1.3% | −8 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 462 | 81% | 2.8% | −15 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 367 | 84% | 2.2% | −11 min |
Flights into CID
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into The Eastern Iowa, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (65% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 3,537 | 65% | 3.6% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,056 | 68% | 1.7% |
| CLT Charlotte | 462 | 70% | 2.8% |
| DFW Dallas | 1,190 | 73% | 2.4% |
| ATL Atlanta | 367 | 74% | 1.6% |
| PHX Phoenix | 773 | 76% | 1.2% |
| DEN Denver | 1,155 | 79% | 0.7% |
Questions about CID delays
What is the best time to fly out of CID?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 85% of CID departures at that hour arrived on time, against 59% at 7 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at CID?
January (69% on time). September is the best month (84%).
Which airline is most on time at CID?
American Airlines: 75% of its CID departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 69%.
Why are flights delayed at CID?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (36% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (36%).
How often are flights cancelled at CID?
2.7% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.3%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.