Detroit, MI · Airport profile
DTW
Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport
79.6% of departures from DTW arrived on time across 388,632 flights, July 2023 – July 2026. The weakest hour is 11 PM, at 64.6%. Airline-caused delays accounts for the most delay minutes.
DTW right now
Live conditions where a permitted source publishes them, and the historical record where none does.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
91.4% leave on time
05:00–05:59 local · 6,643 departures on record
When flights run late in this hour, most of the delay is attributed to the airline.
Historical pattern for DTW from US DOT BTS — not a live reading.
Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.
UpdatedForecast issued 09:07Z.
UpdatedBelow 10,000 ft, so aircraft overflying at cruise are not counted. These are observations, not an operational status: a count is a floor, since receiver coverage varies and a movement between two samples can be missed.
UpdatedAircraft observations from ADSB.lol (opens in a new tab) (Katia Esposito and contributing feeders), under the ODbL 1.0 (opens in a new tab). Derived data.
This airport’s live space counts stopped updating more than 6 hours ago, so they are not shown. Published rates are unaffected.
FlyerIntel shows live values only where a permitted source provides them. Sections without data are left empty rather than estimated.
Airport reliability
Departures from DTW, July 2023 – July 2026.
Better than 51% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)
Calculated from 388,632 flights. How this is calculated
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
Why flights are cancelled at DTW
Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.
Extreme weather accounts for 55.6% of cancelled departures from DTW — about 1 in every 142 scheduled departures. That is close to the split across every airport FlyerIntel covers.
Share of cancellations
Of 4,919 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
2,737 cancellations, 55.6% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
1,581 cancellations, 32.1% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
598 cancellations, 12.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
3 cancellations, 0.1% of the total.
4,919 of 388,632 scheduled departures from DTW were cancelled. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
By carrier
| Carrier | Cancelled | Rate | Airline | Weather | Air traffic | Security |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines DL | 1,809 | 0.99% | 59% | 35% | 6% | <1% |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 963 | 1.20% | 2% | 89% | 9% | 0% |
Shares are of each carrier’s own coded cancellations at DTW and run across the row, so they total 100%. “Rate” is cancellations as a share of that carrier’s scheduled departures here. Two carriers on the same runways in the same weather can file very different splits, so read this as what each airline reported about itself, not as a ranking of fault. Carriers below the published minimum of coded cancellations are not listed.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026 · Reason codes are each airline’s own filing, not an independent finding of fault. Shown for airports with at least 500 coded cancellations; 4,919 were recorded at DTW.
Why flights run late at DTW
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from DTW.
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for departures from DTW. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Of the 61,038 departures from DTW that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 53% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 47% left late even though the aircraft had come in on time or early. Across the 64 covered airports that share runs from 47% to 73%, with a median of 62%; DTW’s is the 12th lowest.
The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into DTW just before, found from the tail number in the DOT file. Airlines and hours differ from one airport to the next, so this describes the departures from DTW and does not rate the airport.
An airport is only partly the author of its own delays. Late-arriving aircraft describes the national schedule arriving here more than anything about this airfield. Air traffic control covers airspace and airport capacity, which is where a congested airport shows up; only the airline category sits squarely inside the carriers’ own operation. How differently they run it is further down this page.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What weather costs at DTW
Departures from DTW by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.
13.9% of scheduled departures from DTW left in an hour of bad weather. 2.5% of them were cancelled, against 1.1% in normal conditions, and 66.5% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 81.6%. Those hours held 27% of all cancelled departures. That is about 756 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.
Cancellations were highest in fog hours: 5.0% of 3,876 departures, 4.6 times the normal rate.
Airlines filed 56% of DTW’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 27% of cancelled departures were in bad-weather hours. A code is the airline’s stated reason and an hour’s weather is what the airport reported, so the two need not match.
By weather
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Weather at the airport | Departures | Cancelled | Left on time | Arrived on time | Avg. departure delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal conditionsVFR with no thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 282,88772.8% of all | 1.1% | 81.4% | 81.6% | 11.1 min |
| Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 53,80913.9% of all | 2.5%2.3 times normal | 75.4% | 66.5%15.1 points below normal | 19.5 min |
| MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles | 61,37615.8% of all | 1.5% | 80.7% | 78.5%3.1 points below normal | 12.9 min |
| IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles | 21,0545.4% of all | 1.9%1.8 times normal | 77.4% | 68.5%13.1 points below normal | 17.2 min |
| LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile | 11,5763.0% of all | 3.0%2.8 times normal | 78.0% | 68.7%12.9 points below normal | 18.4 min |
| Thunderstorma thunderstorm reported at the airport | 3,3410.9% of all | 2.8%2.6 times normal | 60.6% | 53.7%27.9 points below normal | 36.1 min |
| Snow or icesnow, snow grains, ice pellets, freezing rain or freezing drizzle | 21,5485.5% of all | 3.8%3.6 times normal | 69.4% | 49.4%32.2 points below normal | 27.6 min |
| Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport | 3,8761.0% of all | 5.0%4.6 times normal | 76.7% | 65.0%16.6 points below normal | 23.2 min |
| Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport | 1,2110.3% of all | 3.0%2.8 times normal | 50.3% | 42.0%39.6 points below normal | 43.6 min |
| High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more | 8,5392.2% of all | 3.7%3.5 times normal | 70.9% | 64.6%17.0 points below normal | 24.9 min |
| Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet | 21,6395.6% of all | 1.7%1.6 times normal | 82.0% | 77.0%4.6 points below normal | 12.8 min |
| Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles | 23,8756.1% of all | 2.7%2.6 times normal | 75.3% | 63.7%17.9 points below normal | 20.4 min |
A departure is counted in every row its hour fits, so the rows overlap and do not add up. Left on time is a departure under 15 minutes late, and arrived on time an arrival under 15 minutes late; cancelled is the share of scheduled departures. Rows with fewer than 120 departures are not scored.
This is the weather reported at DTW in the hour a flight was scheduled to leave. It leaves out the weather at the destination and on the way, weather that arrived after the scheduled time, and anything else that goes wrong in a bad hour. An hour takes the worst conditions any report in it gave. Weather was matched to 99.9% of the airport’s scheduled departures; the rest left in hours with no report, or at a scheduled time the flight records cannot place exactly. Bad-weather hours are compared with normal hours at the same airport, not with what the same flights would have done in a clear sky: they also fall more often in some seasons and at some times of day.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Which airlines hold up in bad weather at DTW
Cancellations by airline in hours of bad weather at DTW, against the other carriers in the same months, July 2023 – July 2026.
14% of the weather-matched departures from DTW left in an hour of bad weather at the airport. 2.5% of them were cancelled. That is 2.3 times the 1.1% in normal hours. No one carrier holds most of them; 10 airlines have enough to compare.
Compared with the other carriers at DTW in the same months, Delta Air Lines (1.6% cancelled against 3.3% for the others; below them in normal hours too) cancelled the fewest in bad weather and PSA Airlines (8.4% cancelled against 2.8% for the others; above them in normal hours too) the most. 6 more airlines are also clearly apart from the others.
Airlines in bad weather at DTW
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers | Normal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 25,10147% of bad-weather | 1.6%below the others | 3.3% | 0.9%others 1.2% |
| United Airlines | 1,0252% of bad-weather | 1.4%below the others | 2.5% | 1.2%others 1.0% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,9264% of bad-weather | 1.8%below the others | 2.6% | 0.5%others 1.1% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,1502% of bad-weather | 2.5% | 2.8% | 2.1%others 1.1% |
| Endeavor Air | 2,6485% of bad-weather | 1.3% | 1.4% | 0.8%others 1.0% |
| American Airlines | 2,3274% of bad-weather | 3.1%above the others | 2.4% | 1.5%others 1.0% |
| Spirit Airlines | 4,3808% of bad-weather | 3.3%above the others | 2.3% | 1.3%others 0.9% |
| Republic Airways | 2,2944% of bad-weather | 3.8%above the others | 2.6% | 2.4%others 1.1% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 11,15621% of bad-weather | 3.7%above the others | 2.3% | 0.7%others 1.2% |
| PSA Airlines | 7221% of bad-weather | 8.4%above the others | 2.8% | 4.0%others 1.1% |
Best first. The other carriers’ column applies their rate in each month to the airline’s own departures, so a stormy month is not held against it; the normal-hours column gives the same pair outside bad weather.
The 10 listed airlines flew 98% of the bad-weather departures at DTW; a carrier under 500 is not listed. The comparison does not hold the hour of the day, the destination or the aircraft fixed, and a gap counts as clear only at 2 standard errors and 0.3 points. Endeavor Air, Republic Airways and SkyWest Airlines fly for mainline airlines and are counted as carriers of their own here, though they share the airport’s gates, its de-icing and often its decisions to cancel.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.
Turning aircraft around at DTW
Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at DTW, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.
The median turn at DTW is scheduled for 65 minutes on the ground and takes 73 minutes, against 56 minutes and 63 minutes across all airports. Aircraft are given longer on the ground here than at the typical airport. The 8 minutes by which the typical turn runs over its schedule are about what it is across all airports. 15.6% of turns here began with an aircraft that landed 15 or more minutes late, below the 18.9% for all airports.
When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (46,085 turns here, 63 minutes late on average), 73% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 66% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 10% did (all airports 11%).
Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 74% finished in the schedule and 65% leaving late. At these turn lengths DTW looks like the network on both counts: late turns are finished in the schedule, and lateness passed on, about as often as elsewhere.
Turns at DTW against all airports
295,502 turns, July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | DTW | All airports | All airports, same turn lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median scheduled turn | 65 min | 56 min | — |
| Median actual turn | 73 min | 63 min | — |
| Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late | 16% | 19% | — |
| Late turns finished within the schedule | 73% | 68% | 74% |
| Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 66% | 72% | 65% |
| On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 10% | 11% | — |
The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at DTW, band by band from under 30 minutes to 3 to 6 hours. A turn finishes within the schedule when the aircraft spent no more time on the ground than the schedule gave it.
A turn pairs an aircraft’s landing at DTW with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 295,502 turns are 76% of the flights that left DTW in the period; the rest are an aircraft’s first flight after a long stay, flights without a usable inbound, and cancelled flights. Ground time runs from the gate. Turns under 30 minutes are kept, but most leave late even after an on-time landing. Airlines set their own turn schedules, so this describes the airlines that fly at DTW and does not rate the airport.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records · July 2023 – July 2026 · Airports side by side: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back.
What sets DTW apart
Where DTW’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.
Flights scheduled to leave DTW at 9 PM arrive on time 78.1% of the time, 7.2 points better than the 70.9% for that hour at the other airports.
11 PM is where DTW falls furthest behind the rest: 64.6% of its 11 PM departures arrive on time, 14.5 points below the 79.1% for that hour elsewhere.
May treats DTW better than it treats the rest of the country: 80.0% on time against 75.4% elsewhere, 4.6 points ahead.
January is DTW’s hardest month against the field, 69.9% on time to 78.9% elsewhere, 9 points short.
American Airlines does better out of DTW than anywhere else it flies: 80.6% on time here, 74.8% on its other departures, 5.8 points apart.
SkyWest Airlines’ departures from DTW arrive on time 77.4% of the time, 3.1 points worse than the 80.5% the same airline manages at its other airports.
DTW against the other airports
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | DTW | Elsewhere | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 9 PM departures | 78.1% | 70.9% | +7.2 pts | 34,433 here, 649,878 elsewhere |
| Hour: 11 PM departures | 64.6% | 79.1% | −14.5 pts | 749 here, 173,306 elsewhere |
| Month: May | 80.0% | 75.4% | +4.6 pts | 31,651 here, 1,455,682 elsewhere |
| Month: January | 69.9% | 78.9% | −9.0 pts | 27,360 here, 1,262,431 elsewhere |
| Airline: American Airlines | 80.6% | 74.8% | +5.8 pts | 16,027 here, 2,940,612 elsewhere |
| Airline: SkyWest Airlines | 77.4% | 80.5% | −3.1 pts | 79,084 here, 2,314,426 elsewhere |
"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with DTW’s own flights removed (for airlines, that airline’s flights from all its other airports). Hours, months and airlines appear only where both sides have at least 120 completed flights (airlines 500) and the gap is at least 2 points and 2 standard errors; only the largest gap in each direction is shown. The taxi figure is weighted by departures and has no error estimate, so it appears from 2 minutes.
Best time to fly from DTW
On-time arrival rate by scheduled local departure time: each weekday and hour, and averaged over the week.
Flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 86.3% of the time, against 71.8% for 6–9 PM departures — a gap of 14.5 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time.
Tuesday 5–6 AM was the most reliable slot at DTW (91.9% on time, 875 flights) and Thursday 5–6 PM the least (66.7%, 2,473 flights).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 5.5 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 2.1 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
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On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 90–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
- Most reliable slot
- Least reliable slot
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
Best and worst slots are named only among slots with 500+ flights, and only when the gap is larger than sampling error. Departures before 5 AM (2 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 90.5% on time1,010 flights | 91.9% on time875 flights | 91.4% on time869 flights | 87.3% on time1,015 flights | 89.6% on time1,038 flights | 89.8% on time910 flights | 86.3% on time926 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 86.4% on time2,138 flights | 89.8% on time1,862 flights | 88.7% on time1,887 flights | 85.8% on time2,092 flights | 86.7% on time2,128 flights | 87.5% on time1,833 flights | 86.3% on time1,837 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 87.7% on time3,871 flights | 89.3% on time3,741 flights | 89.8% on time3,776 flights | 86.3% on time3,859 flights | 84.0% on time3,828 flights | 86.8% on time3,005 flights | 86.1% on time3,868 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 84.8% on time6,760 flights | 86.5% on time6,570 flights | 88.7% on time6,633 flights | 84.5% on time6,710 flights | 83.4% on time6,749 flights | 84.5% on time6,353 flights | 83.6% on time6,673 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 84.2% on time1,389 flights | 86.5% on time1,226 flights | 88.5% on time1,206 flights | 83.9% on time1,430 flights | 83.1% on time1,405 flights | 84.9% on time1,222 flights | 82.4% on time1,433 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 83.6% on time5,876 flights | 84.3% on time5,552 flights | 87.5% on time5,598 flights | 83.0% on time5,801 flights | 81.5% on time5,872 flights | 84.6% on time5,915 flights | 80.2% on time5,784 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 85.6% on time1,073 flights | 84.4% on time958 flights | 87.6% on time978 flights | 84.5% on time1,062 flights | 83.6% on time1,098 flights | 83.9% on time893 flights | 80.5% on time1,069 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 80.5% on time5,213 flights | 83.3% on time4,992 flights | 84.5% on time5,048 flights | 82.7% on time5,118 flights | 80.3% on time5,149 flights | 83.3% on time4,252 flights | 80.1% on time5,139 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 77.9% on time1,438 flights | 81.5% on time1,302 flights | 81.3% on time1,347 flights | 78.9% on time1,437 flights | 75.8% on time1,460 flights | 81.2% on time1,137 flights | 77.6% on time1,373 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 75.8% on time3,256 flights | 80.7% on time3,023 flights | 79.5% on time3,040 flights | 77.2% on time3,194 flights | 76.1% on time3,268 flights | 80.2% on time2,662 flights | 72.6% on time3,275 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 75.4% on time3,582 flights | 79.4% on time3,197 flights | 78.2% on time3,223 flights | 75.9% on time3,576 flights | 74.9% on time3,573 flights | 79.3% on time3,203 flights | 73.0% on time3,648 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 75.2% on time5,095 flights | 78.4% on time4,877 flights | 77.1% on time4,905 flights | 75.0% on time5,095 flights | 73.9% on time5,070 flights | 78.5% on time4,954 flights | 73.9% on time5,024 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 69.2% on time2,484 flights | 73.7% on time2,238 flights | 70.9% on time2,276 flights | 66.7% on time2,473 flights | 68.0% on time2,505 flights | 74.6% on time1,571 flights | 68.5% on time2,451 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 71.3% on time2,371 flights | 76.1% on time2,132 flights | 73.5% on time2,194 flights | 70.3% on time2,319 flights | 69.3% on time2,359 flights | 72.8% on time1,870 flights | 67.1% on time2,364 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 68.3% on time2,303 flights | 75.7% on time2,076 flights | 74.0% on time2,157 flights | 69.8% on time2,344 flights | 70.4% on time2,332 flights | 70.4% on time1,641 flights | 67.1% on time2,365 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 71.8% on time3,891 flights | 78.2% on time3,536 flights | 74.5% on time3,582 flights | 71.1% on time3,883 flights | 70.6% on time3,962 flights | 77.6% on time3,397 flights | 67.0% on time3,979 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 76.5% on time5,167 flights | 81.9% on time4,888 flights | 78.9% on time4,939 flights | 78.3% on time5,023 flights | 76.7% on time5,154 flights | 82.4% on time4,768 flights | 72.1% on time5,096 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 71.6% on time803 flights | 76.4% on time665 flights | 72.7% on time668 flights | 70.8% on time816 flights | 71.2% on time832 flights | 76.1% on time358 flights | 68.6% on time831 flights |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 67.4% on time130 flights | 104 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 55.8% on time131 flights | 57.4% on time134 flights | 13 flights, too few to score | 61.9% on time144 flights |
By departure window
All days combinedBy departure hour
All days combined- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 89.5% on time from 6,643 flights
- 6 AM: 87.3% on time from 13,777 flights
- 7 AM: 87.1% on time from 25,948 flights
- 8 AM: 85.1% on time from 46,448 flights
- 9 AM: 84.7% on time from 9,311 flights
- 10 AM: 83.5% on time from 40,398 flights
- 11 AM: 84.3% on time from 7,131 flights
- 12 PM: 82.0% on time from 34,911 flights
- 1 PM: 79.1% on time from 9,494 flights
- 2 PM: 77.3% on time from 21,718 flights
- 3 PM: 76.5% on time from 24,002 flights
- 4 PM: 76.0% on time from 35,020 flights
- 5 PM: 69.9% on time from 15,998 flights
- 6 PM: 71.4% on time from 15,609 flights
- 7 PM: 70.7% on time from 15,218 flights
- 8 PM: 72.8% on time from 26,230 flights
- 9 PM: 78.1% on time from 35,035 flights
- 10 PM: 72.0% on time from 4,973 flights
- 11 PM: 64.6% on time from 766 flights
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Buckets with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.
What parking will cost
Estimated from DTW's own published rates.
Estimated cost
Choose a facility and both dates to see an estimate.
Rates as published by the airport, last read 2026-08-31. Confirm before you travel.
Source: Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport · An estimate from published standard rates. Airports vary surcharges, oversize vehicle fees and event pricing, so confirm the price with the airport before you travel.
International arrivals
How long passport control normally takes here, hour by hour and hall by hall. This is the arrivals queue, not departure security — and it is history, not a live wait.
At McNamara Terminal, DTW’s busiest hall, both passport queues run much the same: a typical 10 min on a US passport and 14 min on any other, rising to 30 min on a busy day. Where the two halls agree like this, CBP’s combined figure of 11 min is a fair summary of both — which is not true everywhere, and is why they are shown apart.
Terminal by terminal, across the day
| Terminal | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Global Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McNamara Terminal | 10 min | 20 min | 14 min | 30 min | 14.4% of arrivals |
| Warren C Evans Terminal | 22 min | 35 min | 25 min | 39 min | 4.8% of arrivals |
DTW’s halls are not interchangeable: passengers on other passports typically clear Warren C Evans Terminal in 25 min against 14 min at McNamara Terminal. Which one you land in is decided by the airline you booked, not by you.
Your terminal is set by the airline you arrive on, not by you. This is here so you can read the hall you will actually land in.
Showing customs wait times for McNamara TerminalUS passports — McNamara Terminal
- 12 AM–1 AM: too few records to publish
- 1 AM–2 AM: too few records to publish
- 2 AM–3 AM: too few records to publish
- 3 AM–4 AM: too few records to publish
- 4 AM–5 AM: too few records to publish
- 5 AM–6 AM: too few records to publish
- 6 AM–7 AM: too few records to publish
- 7 AM–8 AM: too few records to publish
- 8 AM–9 AM: typically 12 min, 18 min on a busy day (184 days)
- 9 AM–10 AM: typically 16 min, 27 min on a busy day (265 days)
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 11 min, 18 min on a busy day (314 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 9 min, 17 min on a busy day (395 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 8 min, 17 min on a busy day (487 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 11 min, 22 min on a busy day (715 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 11 min, 23 min on a busy day (659 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 8 min, 16 min on a busy day (527 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 8 min, 13 min on a busy day (497 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 9 min, 16 min on a busy day (751 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 11 min, 20 min on a busy day (768 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 11 min, 23 min on a busy day (693 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 8 min, 15 min on a busy day (210 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: too few records to publish
- 10 PM–11 PM: too few records to publish
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
US citizens and lawful permanent residents, who use the US-passport lanes.
All other passports — McNamara Terminal
- 12 AM–1 AM: too few records to publish
- 1 AM–2 AM: too few records to publish
- 2 AM–3 AM: too few records to publish
- 3 AM–4 AM: too few records to publish
- 4 AM–5 AM: too few records to publish
- 5 AM–6 AM: too few records to publish
- 6 AM–7 AM: too few records to publish
- 7 AM–8 AM: too few records to publish
- 8 AM–9 AM: typically 20 min, 29 min on a busy day (184 days)
- 9 AM–10 AM: typically 28 min, 39 min on a busy day (265 days)
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 19 min, 31 min on a busy day (314 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 14 min, 26 min on a busy day (395 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 12 min, 23 min on a busy day (487 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 15 min, 30 min on a busy day (715 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 15 min, 35 min on a busy day (659 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 12 min, 24 min on a busy day (527 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 11 min, 19 min on a busy day (497 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 14 min, 29 min on a busy day (751 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 14 min, 31 min on a busy day (768 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 14 min, 34 min on a busy day (693 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 9 min, 21 min on a busy day (210 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: too few records to publish
- 10 PM–11 PM: too few records to publish
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
Every other arriving passenger, including visa and visa-waiver travelers.
Hour by hour — McNamara Terminal
| Cleared in hour | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Booths open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 AM–9 AM | 12 min | 18 min | 20 min | 29 min | 7 |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 16 min | 27 min | 28 min | 39 min | 8 |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 11 min | 18 min | 19 min | 31 min | 11 |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 9 min | 17 min | 14 min | 26 min | 13 |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 8 min | 17 min | 12 min | 23 min | 13 |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 11 min | 22 min | 15 min | 30 min | 11 |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 11 min | 23 min | 15 min | 35 min | 10 |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 8 min | 16 min | 12 min | 24 min | 10 |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 8 min | 13 min | 11 min | 19 min | 11 |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 9 min | 16 min | 14 min | 29 min | 11 |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 11 min | 20 min | 14 min | 31 min | 10 |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 11 min | 23 min | 14 min | 34 min | 9 |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 8 min | 15 min | 9 min | 21 min | 7 |
US passports: clearing in the 9 AM–10 AM hour typically takes 16 min, against 8 min in the 8 PM–9 PM hour — 9 min between the slowest and fastest of 13 measured hours.
All other passports: clearing in the 9 AM–10 AM hour typically takes 28 min, against 9 min in the 8 PM–9 PM hour — 19 min between the slowest and fastest of 13 measured hours.
The hour is when CBP processed the passenger, not when the aircraft landed — allow for the walk from the gate. Hours with fewer than 120 days of records are not listed rather than shown as an estimate, which is why a terminal’s quietest hours are usually absent. “Busy day” is the 90th percentile: one arrival in ten is worse than that. Booths are how many CBP had open, and they follow the queue rather than prevent it — the busiest hours are staffed hardest and are still the slowest.
Source: US Customs and Border Protection · 2024-08-28 to 2026-10-16 · These are CBP passport control waits for arriving international passengers — a different queue from TSA departure screening. CBP publishes them about two days in arrears, so every figure here describes what has been typical over 2024-08-28 to 2026-10-16, and none of it is a live queue or a forecast for your flight. US and non-US passengers are reported separately by CBP and are kept separate here, because they are separate halls. FlyerIntel publishes a terminal or an hour only where CBP filed at least 120 hourly records for it, and an hour-by-hour breakdown only where at least 6 hours clear that floor.
What to expect at DTW
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
- 12 AM: no departures
- 1 AM: no departures
- 2 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 3 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 4 AM: no departures
- 5 AM: about 6 departures a day
- 6 AM: about 12 departures a day
- 7 AM: about 23 departures a day
- 8 AM: about 41 departures a day
- 9 AM: about 8 departures a day
- 10 AM: about 36 departures a day
- 11 AM: about 6 departures a day
- 12 PM: about 31 departures a day
- 1 PM: about 8 departures a day
- 2 PM: about 19 departures a day
- 3 PM: about 21 departures a day
- 4 PM: about 31 departures a day
- 5 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 6 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 7 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 8 PM: about 23 departures a day
- 9 PM: about 31 departures a day
- 10 PM: about 4 departures a day
- 11 PM: about 1 departure a day
The busiest hour is 8 AM, with about 41 departures a day, against roughly 6 at 11 AM. That peak is also more punctual than a typical hour here: early banks fly aircraft that spent the night on the ground rather than ones inheriting the day’s delays.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Taxi-out runs from gate to wheels-up, averaged over departures and weighted by hour. Taxi-in runs from touchdown to gate.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 5.9 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 69.9% on time
- Feb: 79.6% on time
- Mar: 79.2% on time
- Apr: 82.5% on time
- May: 80.0% on time
- Jun: 77.1% on time
- Jul: 73.7% on time
- Aug: 79.1% on time
- Sep: 86.7% on time
- Oct: 87.6% on time
- Nov: 83.8% on time
- Dec: 76.2% on time
January is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.7 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Airlines at DTW
Departure performance by operating carrier. Regional flights are reported by the carrier that operated them, not by the mainline brand.
| Carrier | Departures | On time | Cancelled | Median delay |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines DL | 183,599 | 79.7% | 0.99% | -7 min |
| SkyWest Airlines OO | 80,271 | 77.4% | 1.20% | -6 min |
| Spirit Airlines NK | 30,207 | 79.6% | 1.64% | -9 min |
| Endeavor Air 9E | 21,464 | 86.8% | 0.83% | -9 min |
| American Airlines AA | 16,353 | 80.6% | 1.70% | -10 min |
| Republic Airways YX | 16,069 | 84.4% | 2.73% | -9 min |
| Southwest Airlines WN | 13,017 | 80.2% | 0.71% | -4 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 8,058 | 71.3% | 2.18% | -4 min |
| United Airlines UA | 7,197 | 80.4% | 1.19% | -7 min |
| PSA Airlines OH | 4,500 | 77.0% | 4.71% | -10 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 3,769 | 75.5% | 2.84% | -7 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 2,488 | 77.4% | 2.89% | -7 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 1,640 | 77.7% | 0.73% | -3 min |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Carriers with fewer than 500 departures are not listed.
Routes from DTW
Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.
Busiest routes
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Only routes with at least 10,000 flights are ranked.
Reliability over time
On-time arrival rate for departures, by month.
- July 2023: 74.8% on time from 10,999 flights
- August 2023: 79.3% on time from 11,211 flights
- September 2023: 85.1% on time from 10,819 flights
- October 2023: 89.2% on time from 11,213 flights
- November 2023: 87.7% on time from 10,320 flights
- December 2023: 89.7% on time from 9,982 flights
- January 2024: 69.2% on time from 9,473 flights
- February 2024: 89.8% on time from 9,097 flights
- March 2024: 83.5% on time from 10,760 flights
- April 2024: 84.3% on time from 10,770 flights
- May 2024: 78.5% on time from 11,294 flights
- June 2024: 76.5% on time from 11,408 flights
- July 2024: 73.1% on time from 11,751 flights
- August 2024: 76.9% on time from 11,834 flights
- September 2024: 88.0% on time from 11,165 flights
- October 2024: 88.3% on time from 11,731 flights
- November 2024: 84.8% on time from 10,986 flights
- December 2024: 76.4% on time from 11,098 flights
- January 2025: 75.6% on time from 9,253 flights
- February 2025: 72.6% on time from 8,580 flights
- March 2025: 82.4% on time from 10,369 flights
- April 2025: 82.0% on time from 10,058 flights
- May 2025: 80.9% on time from 10,554 flights
- June 2025: 75.8% on time from 10,770 flights
- July 2025: 73.0% on time from 11,248 flights
- August 2025: 81.3% on time from 10,916 flights
- September 2025: 87.1% on time from 10,014 flights
- October 2025: 85.3% on time from 10,950 flights
- November 2025: 78.4% on time from 9,887 flights
- December 2025: 62.0% on time from 9,934 flights
- January 2026: 64.8% on time from 9,518 flights
- February 2026: 75.7% on time from 9,122 flights
- March 2026: 71.6% on time from 10,701 flights
- April 2026: 81.1% on time from 10,417 flights
- May 2026: 80.9% on time from 10,112 flights
- June 2026: 79.1% on time from 9,869 flights
- July 2026: 73.9% on time from 10,449 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from DTW arrived on time 76.9% of the time, against 79.9% in the 12 months before — declining by 3.0 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Data and sources
Historical statistics
Every historical figure on this page is calculated by FlyerIntel from US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time performance records covering July 2023 – July 2026, comprising 388,632 departures from DTW. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.
Full methodology · All data sources
Related research: The Day After the Holiday · The Least Reliable Hour of the Week · The Best Major Airports for a Tight Connection · Which Months Cancel the Most Flights
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<a href="https://flyerintel.com/airports/dtw/"><img src="https://flyerintel.com/badge/airport/dtw/" alt="Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport on-time performance, from FlyerIntel"></a>Live conditions
Aviation weather comes from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center. Operational events come from the FAA where available. FlyerIntel shows the age of every live value and does not display data it cannot currently retrieve.
Latest observation for DTW: METAR KDTW 180853Z 23007KT 10SM CLR 03/M01 A3048 RMK AO2 SLP326 T00281006 52003 (issued ).