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U.S. Department of TransportationU.S. Department of Transportation IconUnited States Department of TransportationUnited States Department of Transportation
BTS> TranStats
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Domestic Tarmac Times by Month for a Single Year
Select Year:   Tarmac Min: Max:
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Data available through July 2024. Please limit search using dropdowns to a single calendar year. Data begins with January 1995. See New Tarmac Time Data Q&A. for explanation of reporting changes in October 2008 and August 2011.
Selected Year 2019 By Airport or Airline
MonthTarmac TimesStage of Operation Number of Regularly Scheduled Flights
TotalPercent of Regularly Scheduled FlightsPrior To CancellationMultiple Gate DepartureTaxi-OutTaxi-InAt Diversion Airport
January100.0053110638,649
February130.0024430582,966
March50.0021011689,221
April290.00115175668,259
May440.011814093694,311
June480.015110293694,469
July580.012920063717,684
August460.011429120717,456
September110.0051023660,712
October50.0031001692,944
November50.0012200655,072
December240.00912111679,941
2019 Total2980.001041031061208,091,684

Note: Tarmac times for all flights by airlines reporting on-time data are available beginning with October 2008 data. From January 1995 through September 2008, airlines reporting on-time data reported only taxi-out and taxi-in times. Airlines currently reporting on-time data.

Note: Reporting changes due to mergers. Joint reporting begins after Federal Aviation Administration approval of a single operating certificate.
* Jan. 2006: US Airways (US) and America West (HP) start to report combined on-time data in January 2006 as US Airways (US).
* Oct. 2007: US Airways (US) and America West (HP) start to report combined traffic and financial data as US Airways (US).
* Jan. 2010: Delta (DL) and Northwest (NW) start to report jointly as Delta (DL).
* Jan. 2011: Continental Micronesia (CS) and Continental Airlines (CO) start to report jointly as Continental Airlines (CO).
* Jan. 2012: United (UA) and Continental (CO) start to report jointly as United (UA).
* Jan. 2012: Atlantic Southeast (EV) and ExpressJet (XE) start to report jointly as ExpressJet (EV). For data through December 2011, use the code EV for Atlantic Southeast, which will be displayed as (EV) ExpressJet, and the code XE for ExpressJet, which will be displayed as (XE) ExpressJet (1). Beginning with January 2012 data, use the code EV for ExpressJet.
• Endeavor (9E) operated as Pinnacle prior to August 2013. Envoy (MQ) operated as American Eagle prior to April 2014.
• Southwest (WN) and AirTran (FL) began reporting jointly as WN in January 2015 following their 2011 merger announcement.
• American (AA) and US Airways (US) began reporting jointly as AA in July 2015 following their 2013 merger announcement.

Note: Numbers found here may differ from those previously available on the BTS website and on the Air Travel Consumer Report. Beginning with the release of May 2010 data, lengthy tarmac times are measured as more than 3 hours (181 minutes plus). Previous releases used the measurement of 3 hours or more (180 minutes plus). 2-hour and 1-hour tarmac times have been changed to conform. Data from previous months on this application have been revised but may differ from the previously-released Air Travel Consumer Report Tables 11 and 12, which were not revised. Air Travel Consumer Report Tables 11 and 12, beginning with the release of May 2010 data in the July report, will reflect the change in measurement.

Explanation of Stage of Operation
Prior to Cancellation: Flight left the gate but was cancelled at the origin airport
Multiple Gate Departure: Flight left the gate, then returned and then left again to resume normal operation. Tarmac time is the time before the return to the gate.
Taxi-out: The time between gate departure and wheels-off
Taxi-in: The time between wheels-on and gate arrival
At Diversion Airport: The tarmac time at the alternate airport

The number of reporting carriers has varied as follows:
1995: 10
1996: 10
1997: 10
1998: 10
1999: 10
2000: 10 (11 starting in November when Aloha Airlines started reporting for the first time)
2001: 12 (11 starting in November when Aloha Airlines ceased reporting for the first time)
2002: 10
2003: 17 (18 starting in November when Hawaiian Airlines started reporting)
2004: 19
2005: 20 (19 through April after which Frontier Airlines started reporting)
2006: 20 (19 through March after which Aloha Airlines started reporting for the second time)
2007: 20
2008: 19 (20 through February after which Aloha Airlines ceased reporting)
2009: 19
2010: 18
2011: 16
2012: 15
2013: 16
2014: 14
2015: 13 (14 through June after which American and US Airways began joint reporting)
2016: 12
2017: 12
2018: 17 (18 through March after which Alaska Airlines and Virgin America began joint reporting)
2019: 17
2020: 17
2021: 17