ORF to DTW flight delays
Norfolk, VA (ORF) Detroit, MI (DTW) · 529 miles
710 flights · January 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
78.83%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.55%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
102 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
22 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Delta Air Lines arrived on time 11.1 points more often than SkyWest Airlines 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 October it ran 32.5 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 shape of the lateness matters here. Flights on this route are not late often, but when they are late they are late by about 102 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 Norfolk to Detroit 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, Delta Air Lines arrived on time most often on ORF to DTW. SkyWest Airlines was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in October and worst in December.
Every airline on ORF 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 | 553 | 81.47% | 1.45% | 98 min | C |
| SkyWest Airlines | 127 | 70.4% | 1.57% | 122 min | D |
| Spirit Airlines | 30 | 65.52% | 3.33% | 70 min | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
DTW to ORF Detroit back to Norfolk 75.75% on time COther routes from Norfolk
Common questions
Are flights from Norfolk to Detroit usually delayed?
78.83% of flights on the ORF to DTW 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 Norfolk to Detroit?
Delta Air Lines, at 81.47% on time across 553 flights. The least punctual on the route was SkyWest Airlines at 70.4%.
How often are ORF to DTW flights cancelled?
1.55% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 16 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Norfolk to Detroit?
October, when 92.1% of flights arrived on time. The worst was December at 59.6%.
When ORF to DTW flights are late, how late are they?
About 102 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 ORF 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 →