How much Southwest delays hit San Antonio airport

San Antonio International Airport's flight delays in December were just as bad and unusual as they seemed, according to recently released U.S. Department of Transportation data.

By the numbers: Just 71.7% of domestic flights departed San Antonio on time in December 2022, per data from the department's Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

• That's down from 82.8% in November 2022, an 11.1 percentage point drop.

The big picture: Nationally, just 69.1% of December's flights departed on time, Axios' Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Beheraj report.

• That figure is generally between 75% and 80% in a typical month, albeit with predictable dips in the busy — and often meteorologically challenging — summer and winter travel seasons.

Between the lines: The story in December was, of course, Southwest Airlines' epic meltdown.

• 61.2% of Southwest flights departed San Antonio International on time in December.
• Just 57.3% of Southwest's December flights departed on time nationally, compared with 77.2% for Delta Air Lines, 72.5% for American Airlines and 70.7% for United Airlines.
• Southwest's struggles dragged down the average for all carriers reporting data to BTS.

Yes, but: All indications so far suggest Southwest has recovered nicely since December, though the BTS's data reports lag by about three months.