Tampa, FL · Airport profile
TPA
Tampa International Airport
78.2% of departures from TPA arrived on time across 242,628 flights, July 2023 – July 2026. The weakest hour is 11 PM, at 58.3%. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for the most delay minutes.
TPA right now
Live conditions where a permitted source publishes them, and the historical record where none does.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
94.0% leave on time
05:00–05:59 local · 7,541 departures on record
When flights run late in this hour, most of the delay is attributed to the airline.
Historical pattern for TPA from US DOT BTS — not a live reading.
Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.
UpdatedForecast issued 09:05Z.
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.
FlyerIntel shows live values only where a permitted source provides them. Sections without data are left empty rather than estimated.
Airport reliability
Departures from TPA, July 2023 – July 2026.
Better than 29% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)
Calculated from 242,628 flights. How this is calculated
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
Why flights are cancelled at TPA
Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.
Extreme weather accounts for 65.7% of cancelled departures from TPA — about 1 in every 82 scheduled departures. That is 6 points higher than the 59.5% recorded across every airport FlyerIntel covers.
Share of cancellations
Of 4,498 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.
2,953 cancellations, 65.7% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
952 cancellations, 21.2% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
593 cancellations, 13.2% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
4,498 of 242,628 scheduled departures from TPA 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines WN | 1,024 | 1.37% | 9% | 74% | 17% | 0% |
| American Airlines AA | 905 | 2.21% | 9% | 88% | 3% | 0% |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 684 | 1.67% | 36% | 61% | 4% | 0% |
Shares are of each carrier’s own coded cancellations at TPA 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; 4,498 were recorded at TPA.
Why flights run late at TPA
Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from TPA.
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
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 TPA. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Of the 47,473 departures from TPA that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 64% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 36% 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%; TPA’s is the 19th highest.
The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into TPA 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 TPA 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 TPA
Departures from TPA by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.
7.2% of scheduled departures from TPA left in an hour of bad weather. 5.1% of them were cancelled, against 1.5% in normal conditions, and 61.5% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 79.6%. Those hours held 20% of all cancelled departures. That is about 620 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.
Cancellations were highest in high wind hours: 29.6% of 1,653 departures, 19.5 times the normal rate.
Airlines filed 66% of TPA’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 20% 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 | 211,59287.3% of all | 1.5% | 79.3% | 79.6% | 12.5 min |
| Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind | 17,5057.2% of all | 5.1%3.3 times normal | 64.4% | 61.5%18.1 points below normal | 30.1 min |
| MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles | 14,9406.2% of all | 3.7%2.4 times normal | 74.3% | 73.4%6.2 points below normal | 19.7 min |
| IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles | 6,1132.5% of all | 6.9%4.5 times normal | 72.3% | 70.9%8.7 points below normal | 21.6 min |
| LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile | 3,9161.6% of all | 2.1% | 73.0% | 66.3%13.3 points below normal | 24.5 min |
| Thunderstorma thunderstorm reported at the airport | 8,8283.6% of all | 3.8%2.5 times normal | 47.1% | 44.3%35.3 points below normal | 48.0 min |
| Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport | 1,5980.7% of all | 1.8% | 74.6% | 64.9%14.7 points below normal | 24.9 min |
| Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport | 1,7420.7% of all | 13.9%9.1 times normal | 40.9% | 36.1%43.5 points below normal | 62.0 min |
| High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more | 1,6530.7% of all | 29.6%19.5 times normal | 46.6% | 40.8%38.8 points below normal | 56.9 min |
| Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet | 6,9182.9% of all | 2.4%1.6 times normal | 83.8% | 80.8%1.2 points above normal | 10.1 min |
| Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles | 5,9212.4% of all | 6.7%4.4 times normal | 64.4% | 58.9%20.7 points below normal | 32.8 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 TPA 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 TPA
Cancellations by airline in hours of bad weather at TPA, against the other carriers in the same months, July 2023 – July 2026.
7% of the weather-matched departures from TPA left in an hour of bad weather at the airport. 5.1% of them were cancelled. That is 3.3 times the 1.5% in normal hours. No one carrier holds most of them; 7 airlines have enough to compare.
Compared with the other carriers at TPA in the same months, Southwest Airlines (4.3% cancelled against 5.6% for the others; below them in normal hours too) cancelled the fewest in bad weather and Spirit Airlines (7.9% cancelled against 5.4% for the others; above them in normal hours too) the most. 3 more airlines are also clearly apart from the others.
Airlines in bad weather at TPA
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers | Normal hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 5,13529% of bad-weather | 4.3%below the others | 5.6% | 1.1%others 1.7% |
| United Airlines | 1,97111% of bad-weather | 4.3%below the others | 5.5% | 1.4%others 1.5% |
| Delta Air Lines | 3,03017% of bad-weather | 4.7% | 5.3% | 1.4%others 1.6% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,5129% of bad-weather | 5.0% | 4.6% | 2.0%others 1.4% |
| American Airlines | 3,07618% of bad-weather | 5.8%above the others | 4.7% | 1.8%others 1.5% |
| JetBlue | 1,2147% of bad-weather | 6.7%above the others | 4.7% | 2.3%others 1.5% |
| Spirit Airlines | 9666% of bad-weather | 7.9%above the others | 5.4% | 1.8%others 1.4% |
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 7 listed airlines flew 97% of the bad-weather departures at TPA; 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.
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 TPA
Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at TPA, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.
The median turn at TPA is scheduled for 55 minutes on the ground and takes 62 minutes, against 56 minutes and 63 minutes across all airports. The 7 minutes by which the typical turn runs over its schedule are about what it is across all airports.
When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (35,630 turns here, 60 minutes late on average), 59% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 81% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 11% did (all airports 11%).
Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 67% finished in the schedule and 75% leaving late. TPA does worse on both counts: fewer late turns are finished in the schedule and more late aircraft become late departures, so a late arrival is more likely to stay late here than the schedule alone explains. 40% of its late-inbound turns had a scheduled turn of 45 to 59 minutes, against 31% across all airports.
Turns at TPA against all airports
171,128 turns, July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | TPA | All airports | All airports, same turn lengths |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median scheduled turn | 55 min | 56 min | — |
| Median actual turn | 62 min | 63 min | — |
| Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late | 21% | 19% | — |
| Late turns finished within the schedule | 59% | 68% | 67% |
| Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 81% | 72% | 75% |
| On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late | 11% | 11% | — |
The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at TPA, 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 TPA with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 171,128 turns are 71% of the flights that left TPA 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.
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 TPA apart
Where TPA’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.
Flights scheduled to leave TPA at 8 AM arrive on time 88.4% of the time, 2.4 points better than the 86.0% for that hour at the other airports.
11 PM is where TPA falls furthest behind the rest: 58.3% of its 11 PM departures arrive on time, 20.7 points below the 79.0% for that hour elsewhere.
January treats TPA better than it treats the rest of the country: 80.8% on time against 78.7% elsewhere, 2.1 points ahead.
March is TPA’s hardest month against the field, 73.9% on time to 78.0% elsewhere, 4.1 points short.
Spirit Airlines does better out of TPA than anywhere else it flies: 79.0% on time here, 75.4% on its other departures, 3.6 points apart.
Alaska Airlines’ departures from TPA arrive on time 70.7% of the time, 8.2 points worse than the 78.9% the same airline manages at its other airports.
Taxi-out at TPA averages 15.8 minutes, 2.9 minutes less than the 18.7 minutes elsewhere.
TPA against the other airports
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | TPA | Elsewhere | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 8 AM departures | 88.4% | 86.0% | +2.4 pts | 14,415 here, 1,269,177 elsewhere |
| Hour: 11 PM departures | 58.3% | 79.0% | −20.7 pts | 206 here, 173,849 elsewhere |
| Month: January | 80.8% | 78.7% | +2.1 pts | 19,080 here, 1,270,711 elsewhere |
| Month: March | 73.9% | 78.0% | −4.1 pts | 23,207 here, 1,434,114 elsewhere |
| Airline: Spirit Airlines | 79.0% | 75.4% | +3.6 pts | 14,093 here, 607,211 elsewhere |
| Airline: Alaska Airlines | 70.7% | 78.9% | −8.2 pts | 3,164 here, 797,913 elsewhere |
| Taxi-out: Departures | 15.8 min | 18.7 min | −2.9 min | 238,208 here, 17,391,901 elsewhere |
"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with TPA’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 TPA
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 90.7% of the time, against 64.3% for 9 PM–5 AM departures — a gap of 26.4 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time.
Thursday 5–6 AM was the most reliable slot at TPA (94.7% on time, 1,282 flights) and Sunday 9–10 PM the least (53.8%, 1,168 flights).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 10.1 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 2.8 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
- 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 and after 11 PM (258 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 | 93.4% on time1,255 flights | 94.3% on time728 flights | 93.6% on time682 flights | 94.7% on time1,282 flights | 94.0% on time1,289 flights | 93.7% on time1,110 flights | 92.1% on time1,195 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 92.4% on time2,603 flights | 94.1% on time2,290 flights | 94.7% on time2,256 flights | 93.1% on time2,581 flights | 93.7% on time2,660 flights | 91.5% on time2,641 flights | 92.4% on time2,659 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 88.3% on time3,885 flights | 90.1% on time3,781 flights | 92.0% on time3,756 flights | 89.3% on time3,779 flights | 89.1% on time3,825 flights | 90.1% on time3,607 flights | 88.5% on time3,769 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 87.6% on time2,075 flights | 89.7% on time2,135 flights | 91.3% on time2,173 flights | 87.3% on time2,100 flights | 88.7% on time2,052 flights | 87.5% on time2,134 flights | 86.6% on time1,991 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 85.7% on time2,375 flights | 88.0% on time1,998 flights | 87.6% on time2,020 flights | 86.8% on time2,284 flights | 86.2% on time2,398 flights | 86.1% on time2,318 flights | 84.7% on time2,347 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 83.0% on time2,053 flights | 86.3% on time1,861 flights | 87.1% on time1,882 flights | 84.7% on time2,052 flights | 83.1% on time2,029 flights | 82.8% on time1,945 flights | 81.5% on time2,159 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 78.3% on time2,265 flights | 84.0% on time2,300 flights | 85.0% on time2,306 flights | 81.0% on time2,208 flights | 79.4% on time2,278 flights | 81.3% on time2,375 flights | 78.2% on time2,286 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 79.7% on time2,119 flights | 83.4% on time2,087 flights | 82.9% on time2,091 flights | 78.2% on time2,137 flights | 78.0% on time2,112 flights | 78.4% on time2,202 flights | 76.8% on time2,179 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 76.8% on time1,694 flights | 81.4% on time1,711 flights | 82.9% on time1,750 flights | 74.8% on time1,650 flights | 73.5% on time1,686 flights | 73.3% on time1,909 flights | 72.8% on time1,764 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 73.1% on time1,702 flights | 80.5% on time1,546 flights | 78.9% on time1,507 flights | 74.5% on time1,675 flights | 71.0% on time1,714 flights | 70.7% on time1,677 flights | 68.8% on time1,632 flights |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 71.2% on time1,877 flights | 76.8% on time1,718 flights | 75.3% on time1,739 flights | 69.8% on time1,813 flights | 69.7% on time1,877 flights | 69.2% on time2,102 flights | 65.7% on time1,981 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 69.1% on time2,049 flights | 76.7% on time1,934 flights | 73.1% on time1,984 flights | 66.4% on time2,022 flights | 68.4% on time2,056 flights | 68.1% on time2,144 flights | 62.3% on time1,989 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 67.0% on time2,197 flights | 72.6% on time1,954 flights | 69.5% on time1,946 flights | 65.8% on time2,220 flights | 65.6% on time2,211 flights | 68.6% on time2,343 flights | 59.8% on time2,327 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 62.5% on time2,242 flights | 74.4% on time2,048 flights | 67.1% on time2,084 flights | 61.9% on time2,146 flights | 66.6% on time2,192 flights | 69.5% on time2,221 flights | 55.3% on time2,335 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 62.8% on time2,382 flights | 73.6% on time2,032 flights | 68.5% on time2,067 flights | 61.5% on time2,349 flights | 66.8% on time2,367 flights | 68.3% on time1,992 flights | 56.9% on time2,410 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 65.0% on time1,544 flights | 75.4% on time1,123 flights | 72.2% on time1,124 flights | 62.4% on time1,524 flights | 68.1% on time1,558 flights | 68.9% on time1,161 flights | 58.5% on time1,727 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 65.1% on time955 flights | 72.8% on time541 flights | 71.6% on time509 flights | 66.1% on time923 flights | 67.4% on time1,013 flights | 61.8% on time750 flights | 53.8% on time1,168 flights |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 64.8% on time483 flights | 74.4% on time160 flights | 70.4% on time209 flights | 68.3% on time540 flights | 66.6% on time487 flights | 60.3% on time319 flights | 58.5% on time626 flights |
By departure window
All days combinedBy departure hour
All days combined- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 93.7% on time from 7,541 flights
- 6 AM: 93.1% on time from 17,690 flights
- 7 AM: 89.6% on time from 26,402 flights
- 8 AM: 88.4% on time from 14,660 flights
- 9 AM: 86.4% on time from 15,740 flights
- 10 AM: 84.0% on time from 13,981 flights
- 11 AM: 81.0% on time from 16,018 flights
- 12 PM: 79.6% on time from 14,927 flights
- 1 PM: 76.5% on time from 12,164 flights
- 2 PM: 73.8% on time from 11,453 flights
- 3 PM: 70.9% on time from 13,107 flights
- 4 PM: 69.1% on time from 14,178 flights
- 5 PM: 66.8% on time from 15,198 flights
- 6 PM: 65.2% on time from 15,268 flights
- 7 PM: 65.2% on time from 15,599 flights
- 8 PM: 66.5% on time from 9,761 flights
- 9 PM: 64.3% on time from 5,859 flights
- 10 PM: 64.9% on time from 2,824 flights
- 11 PM: 58.3% on time from 213 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 TPA'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: Tampa International 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.
A US passport clears Main, TPA’s busiest hall, in a typical 6 min; everyone else in the same terminal typically takes 12 min, and 27 min on a busy day. These are separate halls, separately staffed — CBP’s single combined figure of 9 min is a number few arrivals actually experience.
Terminal by terminal, across the day
| Terminal | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Global Entry |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Main | 6 min | 11 min | 12 min | 27 min | 9.1% of arrivals |
US passports — Main
- 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: too few records to publish
- 9 AM–10 AM: typically 5 min, 12 min on a busy day (250 days)
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 5 min, 12 min on a busy day (305 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 5 min, 13 min on a busy day (183 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 6 min, 12 min on a busy day (410 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 6 min, 10 min on a busy day (761 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 5 min, 10 min on a busy day (564 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 6 min, 11 min on a busy day (588 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 7 min, 14 min on a busy day (685 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 6 min, 13 min on a busy day (586 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 6 min, 11 min on a busy day (456 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 5 min, 8 min on a busy day (557 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 5 min, 9 min on a busy day (284 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: typically 4 min, 8 min on a busy day (133 days)
- 10 PM–11 PM: typically 6 min, 8 min on a busy day (146 days)
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
US citizens and lawful permanent residents, who use the US-passport lanes.
All other passports — Main
- 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: too few records to publish
- 9 AM–10 AM: typically 10 min, 24 min on a busy day (250 days)
- 10 AM–11 AM: typically 9 min, 20 min on a busy day (305 days)
- 11 AM–12 PM: typically 9 min, 22 min on a busy day (183 days)
- 12 PM–1 PM: typically 12 min, 23 min on a busy day (410 days)
- 1 PM–2 PM: typically 12 min, 24 min on a busy day (761 days)
- 2 PM–3 PM: typically 12 min, 24 min on a busy day (564 days)
- 3 PM–4 PM: typically 11 min, 25 min on a busy day (588 days)
- 4 PM–5 PM: typically 19 min, 40 min on a busy day (685 days)
- 5 PM–6 PM: typically 18 min, 42 min on a busy day (586 days)
- 6 PM–7 PM: typically 15 min, 30 min on a busy day (456 days)
- 7 PM–8 PM: typically 11 min, 20 min on a busy day (557 days)
- 8 PM–9 PM: typically 8 min, 18 min on a busy day (284 days)
- 9 PM–10 PM: typically 8 min, 15 min on a busy day (133 days)
- 10 PM–11 PM: typically 13 min, 19 min on a busy day (146 days)
- 11 PM–12 AM: too few records to publish
Every other arriving passenger, including visa and visa-waiver travelers.
Hour by hour — Main
| Cleared in hour | US passports | US busy day | Other passports | Other busy day | Booths open |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 AM–10 AM | 5 min | 12 min | 10 min | 24 min | 3 |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 5 min | 12 min | 9 min | 20 min | 3 |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 5 min | 13 min | 9 min | 22 min | 4 |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 6 min | 12 min | 12 min | 23 min | 6 |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 6 min | 10 min | 12 min | 24 min | 7 |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 5 min | 10 min | 12 min | 24 min | 7 |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 6 min | 11 min | 11 min | 25 min | 6 |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 7 min | 14 min | 19 min | 40 min | 7 |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 6 min | 13 min | 18 min | 42 min | 7 |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 6 min | 11 min | 15 min | 30 min | 7 |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 5 min | 8 min | 11 min | 20 min | 7 |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 5 min | 9 min | 8 min | 18 min | 6 |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 4 min | 8 min | 8 min | 15 min | 5 |
| 10 PM–11 PM | 6 min | 8 min | 13 min | 19 min | 4 |
All other passports: clearing in the 4 PM–5 PM hour typically takes 19 min, against 8 min in the 8 PM–9 PM hour — 11 min between the slowest and fastest of 14 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 TPA
How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.
Scheduled departures by hour
- 12 AM: fewer than one departure a day
- 1 AM: no departures
- 2 AM: no departures
- 3 AM: no departures
- 4 AM: no departures
- 5 AM: about 7 departures a day
- 6 AM: about 16 departures a day
- 7 AM: about 23 departures a day
- 8 AM: about 13 departures a day
- 9 AM: about 14 departures a day
- 10 AM: about 12 departures a day
- 11 AM: about 14 departures a day
- 12 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 1 PM: about 11 departures a day
- 2 PM: about 10 departures a day
- 3 PM: about 12 departures a day
- 4 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 5 PM: about 13 departures a day
- 6 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 7 PM: about 14 departures a day
- 8 PM: about 9 departures a day
- 9 PM: about 5 departures a day
- 10 PM: about 3 departures a day
- 11 PM: fewer than one departure a day
The busiest hour is 7 AM, with about 23 departures a day, against roughly 5 at 9 PM. 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 9.2 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 80.8% on time
- Feb: 81.2% on time
- Mar: 73.9% on time
- Apr: 81.4% on time
- May: 74.8% on time
- Jun: 74.3% on time
- Jul: 68.5% on time
- Aug: 75.5% on time
- Sep: 84.0% on time
- Oct: 84.3% on time
- Nov: 85.2% on time
- Dec: 79.2% on time
July is historically the weakest month and November the strongest, a spread of 16.7 percentage points.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026
Airlines at TPA
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines WN | 74,540 | 78.6% | 1.37% | -4 min |
| Delta Air Lines DL | 41,061 | 80.3% | 1.67% | -7 min |
| American Airlines AA | 41,014 | 77.1% | 2.21% | -6 min |
| United Airlines UA | 26,645 | 81.5% | 1.65% | -9 min |
| Frontier Airlines F9 | 21,223 | 75.0% | 2.34% | -7 min |
| JetBlue B6 | 16,507 | 74.3% | 2.75% | -5 min |
| Spirit Airlines NK | 14,449 | 79.0% | 2.37% | -7 min |
| Envoy Air MQ | 3,741 | 73.5% | 2.14% | -3 min |
| Alaska Airlines AS | 3,243 | 70.7% | 2.16% | -1 min |
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Carriers with fewer than 500 departures are not listed.
Routes from TPA
Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.
Most reliable
Least reliable
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: 67.2% on time from 6,441 flights
- August 2023: 77.3% on time from 6,159 flights
- September 2023: 81.4% on time from 5,700 flights
- October 2023: 85.8% on time from 6,607 flights
- November 2023: 87.5% on time from 6,737 flights
- December 2023: 83.3% on time from 7,257 flights
- January 2024: 79.8% on time from 6,822 flights
- February 2024: 84.6% on time from 6,571 flights
- March 2024: 70.1% on time from 8,040 flights
- April 2024: 81.2% on time from 7,121 flights
- May 2024: 70.9% on time from 6,846 flights
- June 2024: 74.1% on time from 6,247 flights
- July 2024: 65.6% on time from 6,327 flights
- August 2024: 74.8% on time from 5,902 flights
- September 2024: 83.4% on time from 5,440 flights
- October 2024: 88.1% on time from 6,051 flights
- November 2024: 86.6% on time from 6,347 flights
- December 2024: 78.8% on time from 6,803 flights
- January 2025: 81.7% on time from 6,454 flights
- February 2025: 81.5% on time from 6,306 flights
- March 2025: 75.5% on time from 8,050 flights
- April 2025: 80.7% on time from 7,297 flights
- May 2025: 76.5% on time from 6,969 flights
- June 2025: 71.3% on time from 6,567 flights
- July 2025: 69.2% on time from 6,770 flights
- August 2025: 74.6% on time from 6,171 flights
- September 2025: 87.1% on time from 5,502 flights
- October 2025: 79.2% on time from 6,075 flights
- November 2025: 81.3% on time from 6,421 flights
- December 2025: 75.4% on time from 6,851 flights
- January 2026: 81.0% on time from 6,432 flights
- February 2026: 77.1% on time from 6,173 flights
- March 2026: 76.4% on time from 7,679 flights
- April 2026: 82.3% on time from 6,952 flights
- May 2026: 77.0% on time from 6,471 flights
- June 2026: 77.7% on time from 5,964 flights
- July 2026: 71.9% on time from 6,106 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from TPA arrived on time 78.3% of the time, against 78.8% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
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 242,628 departures from TPA. 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/tpa/"><img src="https://flyerintel.com/badge/airport/tpa/" alt="Tampa International 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 TPA: METAR KTPA 180853Z 03009G16KT 10SM CLR 17/12 A3011 RMK AO2 SLP196 T01720117 55003 $ (issued ).