Best time to fly out of Albuquerque Sunport (ABQ)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Albuquerque Sunport: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 95.3% of the time, against 63.8% in the 10pm–12am band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

On-time rate by hour and day

On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 96 95 95 95 94 94 97
6–8am 94 95 95 93 94 94 94
8–10am 91 92 91 91 88 90 90
10am–12pm 85 88 88 85 85 85 87
12–2pm 79 85 84 82 77 81 79
2–4pm 73 80 78 71 72 76 73
4–6pm 69 75 75 67 65 70 64
6–8pm 74 81 80 72 71 75 70
8–10pm 69 74 76 60 63 65 60
10pm–12am – 69 58 – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at ABQ was Before 6am — 95.3% of departures left on time across 4,466 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from ABQ left on time 94% of the time across 14,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74% across 7,893. That is a gap of 20 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at ABQ

July was the hard month at ABQ: 76.2% of departures left on time, across 6,514 flights. February was the easy one at 86.8%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 82.4%.
Departure on-time share at ABQ by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 85.5% 5,357
February 86.8% 5,004
March 82.3% 5,909
April 82.8% 6,001
May 79.1% 6,572
June 76.9% 6,536
July 76.2% 6,514
August 82.5% 6,404
September 85.1% 6,215
October 83.4% 7,153
November 86.1% 6,018
December 84.2% 6,104

Airlines at ABQ

Every airline with at least 100 departures from ABQ, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.

Airline Left on time Typical delay Cancelled Departures
Southwest Airlines 78.9% 52 min 0.6% 35,405
SkyWest Airlines 89.8% 81 min 0.4% 14,023
American Airlines 80.3% 112 min 2.1% 8,758
United Airlines 86.2% 75 min 1% 5,753
Delta Air Lines 90.4% 92 min 1% 4,172
Envoy Air 84.7% 63 min 1.1% 2,620
Alaska Airlines 79.3% 47 min 0.6% 1,545
Spirit Airlines 77.6% 65 min 1.1% 836
JetBlue Airways 57.8% 115 min 2.9% 593

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

What delays out of ABQ were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,163 flights that departed ABQ and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.9% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 43.9% Airline operations 32.9% Air traffic & airport volume 18.3% Severe weather 4.7% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 43.9%
  • Airline operations 32.9%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 18.3%
  • Severe weather 4.7%
  • Security 0.1%

Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.

If you are connecting through ABQ

Of 73,793 scheduled arrivals into ABQ, 78.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 15,182 arrivals that ran late, 59.4% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.

Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.

Busiest routes out of ABQ

Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.

ABQ in one number

Albuquerque Sunport (ABQ)

Rank 58 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 73,175 departures flown

82.4% of departures left on time

Questions about ABQ

What is the best time of day to fly out of Albuquerque Sunport?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 95.3% of the time across 4,466 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 63.8%.
Is the early flight out of ABQ really more reliable?
6–8am departures from ABQ left on time 94% of the time across 14,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74% across 7,893. That is a gap of 20 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of ABQ?
July: 76.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,514 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 86.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at ABQ?
Delta Air Lines — 90.4% of its 4,172 departures from ABQ left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 57.8% over 593 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
How often are flights cancelled at ABQ?
0.8% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.