BNE to DRW flight delays
829 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · Australian Government BITRE
79.66%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.97%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
—
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Qantas arrived on time 7.8 points more often than Virgin Australia over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The season swings this route hard. In February it ran 21.1 points more punctual than in June — a difference bigger than the one between the best and worst airlines on most routes. If the date is flexible, it is worth more than the carrier.
The route has been getting worse. The later months run 11.3 points less punctual than the earlier ones. A drift of that size is rarely weather; it is more often an airline adding frequencies faster than the airports can absorb them.
The Brisbane to Darwin route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Qantas arrived on time most often on BNE to DRW. Virgin Australia was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in February and worst in June.
Every airline on BNE to DRW
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qantas | 330 | 83.44% | 1.21% | — | B |
| Virgin Australia | 299 | 75.68% | 1% | — | C |
| Jetstar | 200 | 79.4% | 0.5% | — | C |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DRW to BNE Darwin back to Brisbane 79.8% on time COther routes from Brisbane
Common questions
Are flights from Brisbane to Darwin usually delayed?
79.66% of flights on the BNE to DRW route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Brisbane to Darwin?
Qantas, at 83.44% on time across 330 flights. The least punctual on the route was Virgin Australia at 75.68%.
How often are BNE to DRW flights cancelled?
0.97% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 10 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Brisbane to Darwin?
February, when 90.3% of flights arrived on time. The worst was June at 69.2%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on BNE to DRW during January 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →