What time of day are flights most likely to be delayed?

From August 2025 to July 2026, only 8.0% of flights scheduled to leave between 6 and 7 a.m. left 15 or more minutes late, against 35.0% of those leaving between 8 and 9 p.m. Delays build through the day as late planes make their next flights late too, so the first flight of the morning is the safest bet. Hours are local time at the departure airport.

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Key facts

Measure: % of flights leaving 15+ minutes late. Written from the data below.

  • 8 p.m. has the highest figure, 35%, followed by 7 p.m. (34.1%) and 6 p.m. (33.1%).
  • 6 a.m. has the lowest figure, 8%, followed by Before 6 a.m. (8.5%) and 7 a.m. (10%).
  • The highest is 4.4 times the lowest.

Source and date

Source
U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline On-Time Performance (Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance, 1987–present)
License
Public domain (U.S. government work)
Data as of
Published

Citation

Chartly. “What time of day are flights most likely to be delayed?” Chart. Data: U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline On-Time Performance (Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance, 1987–present), https://www.transtats.bts.gov/DL_SelectFields.aspx?gnoyr_VQ=FGJ&QO_fu146_anzr=b0-gvzr (data as of July 31, 2026). https://chart.ly/charts/flight-delays-by-time-of-day (accessed October 15, 2026).

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The data

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The file has the numbers in this table, with the source, license and date. Please credit the source and Chartly.

Scheduled departure hour (local time) % of flights leaving 15+ minutes late
Before 6 a.m. 8.5
6 a.m. 8
7 a.m. 10
8 a.m. 12.3
9 a.m. 15.2
10 a.m. 17.7
11 a.m. 20
Noon 22.4
1 p.m. 24.1
2 p.m. 26.9
3 p.m. 28.4
4 p.m. 30.3
5 p.m. 30.9
6 p.m. 33.1
7 p.m. 34.1
8 p.m. 35
9 p.m. 32.2
10 p.m. 31
11 p.m. 23

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