Columbia

CAE · KCAE

Columbia Metropolitan Airport

33.94°, -81.12°SC, United States

Passengers a year

1.4M

#121 busiest in the U.S.

13

nonstop destinations

26

airlines

32

departures a day

76.9%

arrivals on time

3.1%

flights cancelled

78.2%

load factor

The ten busiest routes from CAE, by passengers: ATL, CLT, DFW, LGA, DCA, ORD, IAD, PHL, EWR, FLLCAEORDCLTIADDCAPHLEWRLGAFLLATLDFW
Nonstop routes — the ten busiest. Filed traffic, August 2025 – July 2026.

Airlines

American Airlines is the largest carrier at Columbia, with 45% of all passengers. 26 airlines fly from here.

Share of passengers · each carrier as a slice of the whole airport

American Airlines holds 45% of the airport — the 23rd most concentrated of 79 small hubs. The nearest comparison is SGF at 45%.

AirlineSharePassengersSeats YoY
AA
American80% fullAmerican Eagle · operated by Piedmont, PSA, Envoy, Republic
44.7%619.9K+5%
DL
Delta83% fullDelta Connection · operated by Endeavor, SkyWest, Republic
39.1%541.8K+0.3%
UA
United81% fullUnited Express · operated by GoJet, CommuteAir, SkyWest, Republic
13.0%180.3K+20.9%
G4
Allegiant46% full
1.6%22.3K—
NK
Spirit51% full
0.9%13.1K—
+Other airlines
0.7%9.8K—

Share, passengers and destinations count each airline’s own flights plus the regional flying sold under its brand. On-time covers the airline's own aircraft only — regional affiliates report to the government separately. Seats year on year compares the latest twelve months against the twelve before them.

Destinations

13 nonstop destinations from Columbia, all domestic.

100% domestic · 0% international · by departing passengers

Top domestic destinations

  • Atlanta (ATL)

    235.3K departing · 88% full

    Delta Air Lines

  • Charlotte (CLT)

    126.2K departing · 84% full

    American Airlines

  • Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW)

    63K departing · 87% full

    American Airlines

  • New York (LGA)

    61.8K departing · 71% full

    Delta Air Lines · American Airlines

  • Washington (DCA)

    52.9K departing · 73% full

    American Airlines

  • Chicago (ORD)

    52.7K departing · 81% full

    United Airlines · American Airlines

  • Dulles (IAD)

    36.4K departing · 82% full

    United Airlines

  • Philadelphia (PHL)

    26.5K departing · 80% full

    American Airlines

  • Newark (EWR)

    8.6K departing · 72% full

    United Airlines · Spirit Airlines

  • Fort Lauderdale (FLL)

    8.3K departing · 48% full

    Allegiant Air · Spirit Airlines

All nonstop destinations

13 nonstop · 5 airlines · 13 domestic / 0 intl

CLTCharlotte

American Eagle · operated by Envoy Air, PSA Airlines, Piedmont Airlines, Republic Airways

ORDChicagoDFWDallas-Fort WorthMIAMiamiLGANew YorkPHLPhiladelphiaDCAWashington

American Airlines profile

Aircraft

By share of departures at Columbia.

Body class · share of departures

When Columbia is busiest

Departures by month over the trailing year. Bars scale to the busiest month.

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Departures a month · peak May 2026

Annual passengers since 1990

Total passengers, arriving and departing, in every year on record.

Passengers a year

Every year
1990
1,151,493
1991
998,409
1992
977,279
1993
891,926
1994
1,024,890
1995
1,171,456
1996
1,153,383
1997
1,130,315
1998
940,522
1999
807,315
2000
881,000
2001
712,411
2002
706,867
2003
1,030,523
2004
1,256,210
2005
1,471,660
2006
1,285,815
2007
1,257,579
2008
1,157,758
2009
1,066,148
2010
994,552
2011
997,215
2012
996,749
2013
1,002,791
2014
1,031,833
2015
1,105,670
2016
1,136,549
2017
1,057,282
2018
1,179,264
2019
1,319,229
2020
564,682
2021
860,246
2022
1,043,015
2023
1,215,611
2024
1,338,834
2025
1,363,670
2026
803,852 so far

Arriving on time

Of every 100 flights landing at Columbia, 77 touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, 20 arrive late, and 3 are cancelled.

See live FAA delays

Every 100 arrivals

On time 77Late 20Cancelled 3

17 min

average delay

173

flights cancelled

5.3K

arrivals measured

What holds flights up

Share of delay minutes

Most reliable here

Delta Air Lines 83.4%

Least reliable here

SkyWest Airlines 66.7%

Among US airports

#121

On time, month by month

Darker is better · 64.7%–84.1%

The weak spot is December 2025, when 64.7% of arrivals landed on time — 12.2 points below the year. The strongest was September 2025 at 84.1%.

Frequently asked

How busy is Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)?

Columbia Metropolitan Airport handled about 1.4M passengers over the trailing 12 months, ranking #121 among U.S. airports by passengers, with roughly 32 departures a day.

Which airline is the largest at Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)?

American Airlines is the largest carrier at Columbia (CAE), flying about 45% of its passengers. 26 airlines serve Columbia in total.

How many places can you fly nonstop from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)?

Columbia (CAE) has 13 nonstop destinations, all domestic.

How often do flights arrive on time at Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)?

About 76.9% of flights arriving at Columbia (CAE) touch down within 15 minutes of schedule, per US DOT figures. About 3.1% are cancelled.

What aircraft flies most from Columbia Metropolitan Airport (CAE)?

The Embraer ERJ-145 flew the largest share of departures from Columbia (CAE), about 33% of the total.

Departing counts passengers leaving Columbia. Data: traffic August 2025 – July 2026, on-time August 2025 – July 2026. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics (T-100 Segment, On-Time Performance).