Best time to fly out of Bloomington (BMI)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Central Illinois at Bloomington-Normal: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.1% of the time, against 81.9% in the 2–4pm 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 93 | 92 | 91 | 93 | 92 | 91 | 92 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | 86 | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 79 | 86 | 81 | 85 | 81 | 81 | 80 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BMI was 6–8am — 92.1% of departures left on time across 1,880 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 81.9%.
The year at BMI
July was the hard month at BMI: 78.8% of departures left on time, across 530 flights. October was the easy one at 91.8%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 82.9% | 363 |
| February | 87.5% | 354 |
| March | 83.3% | 408 |
| April | 84.1% | 446 |
| May | 83.6% | 508 |
| June | 80% | 452 |
| July | 78.8% | 530 |
| August | 86% | 518 |
| September | 91.3% | 440 |
| October | 91.8% | 429 |
| November | 87.9% | 435 |
| December | 85.7% | 457 |
Airlines at BMI
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BMI, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Envoy Air | 86.6% | 81 min | 1.8% | 3,271 |
| Endeavor Air | 88.8% | 97 min | 1% | 912 |
| Allegiant Air | 75.6% | 115 min | 0.7% | 717 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 83.9% | 125 min | 0.3% | 343 |
What delays out of BMI were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 899 flights that departed BMI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.8%
- Airline operations 30.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 16.1%
- Severe weather 13.7%
- 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 BMI
Of 5,341 scheduled arrivals into BMI, 81.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 915 arrivals that ran late, 50.7% 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 BMI
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.
BMI in one number
Central Illinois at Bloomington-Normal (BMI)
Rank 203 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about BMI
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Central Illinois at Bloomington-Normal?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.1% of the time across 1,880 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 81.9%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BMI?
- July: 78.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 530 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 91.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at BMI?
- Endeavor Air — 88.8% of its 912 departures from BMI left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 75.6% over 717 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at BMI?
- 1.4% 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.