Timely air travel was improving last fall before the year ended disastrously, Axios’ Alex Fitzpatrick and Kavya Behraj report.

• Overall, nearly 72% of domestic flights departed John Glenn International Airport on time in December — an 11% decline from November and 14% from October, per the latest Bureau of Transportation Statistics data.

Yes, but: CMH performed better than the national average of about 69%.

• Typically the average is closer to 75-80% in a normal month, though it does dip in summer and winter.

Flying the news: Southwest Airlines’ epic holiday meltdown skewed numbers nationwide, along with a dangerous winter storm during Christmas week.

• Just over 63% of Southwest flights departed on time from Columbus in December and about 57% did nationwide.

What we’re watching: All indications so far suggest Southwest has recovered nicely, though BTS data reports lag by about three months.

Of note: Air Canada, Breeze and Vacation Express airlines depart from Columbus but aren’t included in BTS data.