76% of flights leaving Madison (MSN) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. About 44 flights leave MSN on a typical day; 3.0% were cancelled. 79% 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. (88% on time). Worst: 3 p.m. (64%).
- Best month: October (86%). Worst: January (72%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (81%), vs United Airlines at 72%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (37% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (79% → 76%).
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 MSN: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 45% of the time. About 1 in 11 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 39 three hours or more; 3.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early76%
- 15–30 min late6.3%
- 30–60 min late5.5%
- 1–2 hours late4.6%
- 2–3 hours late2.0%
- 3+ hours late2.5%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled3.0%
Share of all 16,167 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of MSN
Time of day matters more at MSN than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 88% of the time; at 3 p.m. it was 64%, a 23-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 84% on time against 66% 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: 4 p.m. departures were cancelled 4.8% of the time, against 3.0% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at MSN was a 5 a.m. departure in October (96% on time); the least, 3 p.m. in July (50%). 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 MSN, with 72% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 9 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 8 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (4.3% of flights).
Airlines at MSN
American Airlines runs 42% of departures from MSN. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (81% on time) and United Airlines the least (72%), a 8-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 | 6,809 | 75% | 77% | 3.9% | −10 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 5,007 | 81% | 81% | 2.0% | −14 min |
| United Airlines | 4,196 | 72% | 80% | 2.9% | −5 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 155 | 68% | 68% | 3.2% | −4 min |
Why flights are late at MSN
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At MSN, 37% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 37%. Of the 489 cancellations, 63% 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 76% of MSN departures were on time, against 79% in the 12 months before, a decline of 3 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (83%); the worst, December 2025 (69%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Monday, Mar 16, 2026, when 53% of 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | 45 | 53% | 13% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 41 | 39% | 27% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 40 | 35% | 50% |
| Nov 29, 2025 | 43 | 35% | 21% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 45 | 33% | 24% |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 50 | 24% | 56% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 39 | 23% | 51% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 46 | 22% | 54% |
| Jun 12, 2026 | 49 | 20% | 65% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 46 | 20% | 37% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from MSN, each airline's final departure was cancelled 4.1% of the time, against 2.5% for its earlier flights (1.7× 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. 2.9% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Chicago (9.9% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 6:43 p.m. | 9.9% | 2.2% | 58% |
| PHL Philadelphia | American Airlines | 5:52 p.m. | 10.4% | 1.5% | 69% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 5:45 p.m. | 6.0% | 4.4% | 48% |
| LGA New York | Delta Air Lines | 3:07 p.m. | 8.1% | 2.4% | 67% |
| DCA Washington | American Airlines | 3:54 p.m. | 6.0% | 4.4% | 58% |
| CLT Charlotte | American Airlines | 4:11 p.m. | 2.5% | 4.7% | 72% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 5:11 p.m. | 2.2% | 4.4% | 68% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 5:00 p.m. | 3.3% | 1.1% | 81% |
| DTW Detroit | Delta Air Lines | 6:32 p.m. | 0.8% | 3.3% | 75% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 2:39 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.9% | 73% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 6:16 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.2% | 73% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 5:49 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.4% | 77% |
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 MSN
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At MSN 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? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of MSN; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at MSN come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from MSN
Where you're going matters too. From MSN, the most reliable busy route was to Detroit (DTW, 81% on time) and the least reliable to Washington (DCA, 69%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | 1,238 | 69% | 5.2% | −8 min |
| ORD Chicago | 4,751 | 69% | 3.8% | −4 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,091 | 73% | 1.9% | −8 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 691 | 76% | 6.5% | −14 min |
| LGA New York | 1,027 | 78% | 6.0% | −13 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 605 | 79% | 1.0% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,125 | 80% | 0.8% | −8 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,564 | 81% | 1.1% | −12 min |
| DTW Detroit | 1,345 | 81% | 1.0% | −13 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,010 | 82% | 1.9% | −15 min |
| EWR Newark | 463 | 84% | 4.3% | −15 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,042 | 87% | 2.2% | −22 min |
Flights into MSN
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Dane Truax, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (62% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 1,091 | 62% | 1.8% |
| DCA Washington | 1,238 | 65% | 5.9% |
| LGA New York | 1,027 | 68% | 6.5% |
| ORD Chicago | 4,755 | 68% | 3.7% |
| EWR Newark | 463 | 70% | 5.6% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 691 | 71% | 5.5% |
| DTW Detroit | 1,345 | 73% | 1.0% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,010 | 76% | 1.2% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,564 | 79% | 1.1% |
| PHX Phoenix | 605 | 79% | 0.8% |
| DEN Denver | 1,126 | 79% | 0.6% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,042 | 82% | 2.1% |
Questions about MSN delays
What is the best time to fly out of MSN?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 88% of MSN departures at that hour arrived on time, against 64% at 3 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at MSN?
January (72% on time). October is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at MSN?
Delta Air Lines: 81% of its MSN departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 72%.
Why are flights delayed at MSN?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (37% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (37%).
How often are flights cancelled at MSN?
3.0% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 4.3%.
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.