Nearly a quarter of KCI's holiday flights landed late
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Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios
Nearly a quarter of flights landing at Kansas City International Airport arrived at least 15 minutes late last holiday season, according to an Axios analysis of federal airline data.
Why it matters: The holiday travel season is ramping up, and last year's numbers show how often KC flyers ran into delays and where those delays started.
The fine print: Axios analyzed nearly 16,000 flights in and out of KCI from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2025. Canceled flights, about 1.6% of departures, aren't counted as late.
Zoom in: KCI's worst stretch hit at the end of Thanksgiving weekend.
- Just over half of flights landed late on Sunday, Nov. 30, as travelers headed home.
- The next day, as record snow fell near the airport, late arrivals hit around 70% and late departures nearly 75%.
By the numbers: About 24.6% of KCI arrivals landed late, slightly above the national rate of about 23.7%.
- Late arrivals climbed from about 21% of flights in November to about 28% in December.
- Sundays were roughest, with about a third of arrivals landing late, compared with under 20% on Wednesdays.
- Southwest flies about half of KCI's departures, and around 24% of them left late. Flights Delta and United operated themselves did better, at about 19% and 17%.
Between the lines: Planes already running late from somewhere else caused about half of the delay time on flights landing at KCI, compared with about 40% nationwide.
- Airline issues like maintenance and crew problems caused about a third. Weather and air traffic issues accounted for most of the rest.
What they're saying: Delays are often outside of an airport's control, Jackson Overstreet, a public information officer for KC's Aviation Department, said in a statement to Axios.
- The best way for travelers to stay up to date is to download their airline's app or check their website, Overstreet said.
The bottom line: Delays at KCI often start somewhere else, so leave extra time between connecting flights.