Love Field (DAL) Flight Delays: Rate, Best Hours and Airlines
Love Field (DAL) is covered here with a statistics page (it is not one of the 22 full guide airports): 22.6% of flights departing DAL arrived 15 or more minutes late across 215,350 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Southwest Airlines operated 96.6% of those departures. The worst scheduled departure hours are 10 PM (40.9%) and 9 PM (36.2%); 6 AM is the best at 6.3%. 1.28% of scheduled DAL departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-01. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Predict a DAL flight
Historical BTS on-time (15+ min) at DAL
Sample size: 215,350 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 22.6%. Cancellation rate 1.28% of 144,040 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why DAL runs the way it does
Southwest Airlines flew 96.6% of DAL departures in the window, and its flights ran 22.7% late, in line with the airport as a whole. With one carrier that large, DAL's delay record largely follows how Southwest Airlines runs its schedule.
DAL delays peak in June (33.3%), July (29.9%) and May (28.5%) and are lowest in February (15.8%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 7.8% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 36.5% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Best and worst times to fly from DAL
DAL delay rate by scheduled departure hour (hours with 100+ flights)| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|
| 5 AM | 18.4% | 136 |
| 6 AM | 6.3% | 16,757 |
| 7 AM | 9.6% | 13,541 |
| 8 AM | 9.9% | 14,434 |
| 9 AM | 12.5% | 12,830 |
| 10 AM | 15.8% | 13,267 |
| 11 AM | 17.9% | 13,281 |
| 12 PM | 19.9% | 13,227 |
| 1 PM | 22.4% | 13,424 |
| 2 PM | 23.2% | 13,515 |
| 3 PM | 27.4% | 12,142 |
| 4 PM | 29.4% | 13,084 |
| 5 PM | 32.0% | 12,542 |
| 6 PM | 33.2% | 12,758 |
| 7 PM | 35.0% | 12,287 |
| 8 PM | 34.4% | 12,225 |
| 9 PM | 36.2% | 9,299 |
| 10 PM | 40.9% | 6,601 |
DAL delays and cancellations by month
DAL by month| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|
| Jan | 18.7% | 16,931 | 4.30% |
| Feb | 15.8% | 15,987 | 0.29% |
| Mar | 22.0% | 18,449 | 1.01% |
| Apr | 23.7% | 17,698 | 1.52% |
| May | 28.5% | 18,165 | 2.53% |
| Jun | 33.3% | 18,507 | 0.67% |
| Jul | 29.9% | 19,053 | 1.06% |
| Aug | 20.5% | 18,055 | 0.53% |
| Sep | 18.9% | 17,260 | 0.21% |
| Oct | 19.4% | 18,691 | 0.70% |
| Nov | 18.2% | 17,834 | 1.82% |
| Dec | 20.5% | 18,720 | 0.56% |
Airlines at DAL
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from DAL
Routes from DAL (500+ flights)| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|
| DAL to HOU | 21.5% | 12,081 | 2.25% | Predict |
| DAL to ATL | 20.9% | 10,381 | 1.29% | Predict |
| DAL to DEN | 25.5% | 9,573 | 1.44% | Predict |
| DAL to PHX | 21.6% | 8,873 | 1.65% | Predict |
| DAL to LAS | 23.1% | 8,599 | 1.21% | Predict |
| DAL to SAT | 18.6% | 8,321 | 1.22% | Predict |
| DAL to MCO | 25.5% | 7,717 | 1.60% | Predict |
| DAL to AUS | 19.4% | 7,695 | 1.36% | Predict |
| DAL to BNA | 21.4% | 7,008 | 1.36% | Predict |
| DAL to MSY | 22.7% | 6,897 | 1.54% | Predict |
| DAL to MDW | 23.1% | 6,674 | 1.53% | Predict |
| DAL to STL | 19.5% | 6,092 | 1.40% | Predict |
| DAL to MCI | 21.5% | 6,042 | 1.52% | Predict |
| DAL to LAX | 24.8% | 5,456 | 0.96% | Predict |
| DAL to BWI | 23.0% | 5,341 | 1.52% | Predict |
DFW full delay guide
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at DAL?
- 22.6% of flights departing DAL arrived 15 or more minutes late across 215,350 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from DAL?
- Early departures run best. 6 AM flights ran 6.3% late (16,757 flights), 7 AM flights ran 9.6% late (13,541 flights) and 8 AM flights ran 9.9% late (14,434 flights). The worst hours are 10 PM (40.9%), 9 PM (36.2%) and 7 PM (35.0%).
- Which month is worst for delays at DAL?
- June has the highest delay rate at 33.3%. February is the lowest at 15.8%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at DAL?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from DAL, Delta Air Lines has the lowest delay rate at 19.1% (6,063 flights). Southwest Airlines is highest at 22.7%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are DAL flights cancelled?
- 1.28% of 144,040 scheduled departures from DAL were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at DAL?
- The predictor covers DAL flights with a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data. This page shows historical BTS figures only.
- Is DAL better than nearby airports?
- Compare DAL with DFW (26.7%) on the Dallas–Fort Worth: DFW vs DAL compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.