DTW to MCI flight delays
Detroit, MI (DTW) Kansas City, MO (MCI) · 629 miles
1,351 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
80.22%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.11%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
71 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
15 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The shape of the lateness matters here. Flights on this route are not late often, but when they are late they are late by about 71 minutes — long enough to lose a connection or an evening. The on-time percentage looks reassuring and understates the consequence of being on the wrong flight.
The season swings this route hard. In October it ran 24 points more punctual than in December — 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 two directions do not behave alike. MCI to DTW arrives on time 7.4 points more often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
Only Delta Air Lines flies this route in the published record, so there is no choice to weigh — the route's figures and the airline's are the same figures.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Delta Air Lines arrived on time most often on DTW to MCI. Flights ran closest to schedule in October and worst in December.
Every airline on DTW to MCI
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 1,325 | 80.29% | 1.13% | 72 min | C |
| SkyWest Airlines | 12 | 66.67% | 0% | 31 min | — |
| Spirit Airlines | 12 | 83.33% | 0% | 16 min | — |
| Republic Airways | 1 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
| American Airlines | 1 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
MCI to DTW Kansas City back to Detroit 87.58% on time AOther routes from Detroit
Common questions
Are flights from Detroit to Kansas City usually delayed?
80.22% of flights on the DTW to MCI route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Detroit to Kansas City?
Only Delta Air Lines appears in the published record on this route, with 1,325 flights and 80.29% arriving on time.
How often are DTW to MCI flights cancelled?
1.11% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 11 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Detroit to Kansas City?
October, when 89.7% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 65.7%.
When DTW to MCI flights are late, how late are they?
About 71 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on DTW to MCI 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 →