MCI to DTW flight delays
Kansas City, MO (MCI) Detroit, MI (DTW) · 629 miles
1,351 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
87.58%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.18%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
84 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
11 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 84 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 two directions do not behave alike. DTW to MCI arrives on time 7.4 points less 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.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from MCI overall run 8.4 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion MCI has, this route is largely escaping it.
Flights from Kansas City to Detroit keep to schedule more reliably than most. On a route this punctual the day you fly matters more than the airline you pick.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over January 2025 – August 2026, Delta Air Lines arrived on time most often on MCI to DTW. Flights ran closest to schedule in May and worst in December.
Every airline on MCI to DTW
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 | 1,323 | 87.55% | 1.21% | 85 min | B |
| SkyWest Airlines | 13 | 76.92% | 0% | 46 min | — |
| Spirit Airlines | 13 | 100% | 0% | — | — |
| 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
DTW to MCI Detroit back to Kansas City 80.22% on time COther routes from Kansas City
Common questions
Are flights from Kansas City to Detroit usually delayed?
87.58% of flights on the MCI to DTW route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 1 in every ten arrived late. That is better than the average route in this record.
Which airlines fly from Kansas City to Detroit?
Only Delta Air Lines appears in the published record on this route, with 1,323 flights and 87.55% arriving on time.
How often are MCI to DTW flights cancelled?
1.18% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 12 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Kansas City to Detroit?
May, when 93.8% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 76.6%.
When MCI to DTW flights are late, how late are they?
About 84 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 MCI to DTW 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 →