Best time to fly out of Brainerd Lakes (BRD)
The early-flight folk wisdom bends at Brainerd Lakes: the steadiest stretch was the 10am–12pm band at 87.7%, while 6–8pm departures managed 84.4%. 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 87 | – | – | 86 | 90 | 92 | 86 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | 82 | – | – | – | 85 | – | 86 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BRD was 10am–12pm — 87.7% of departures left on time across 684 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 84.4%.
The year at BRD
December was the hard month at BRD: 76.5% of departures left on time, across 158 flights. May was the easy one at 93.9%. 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 | 79.9% | 159 |
| February | 84.8% | 146 |
| March | 86.6% | 160 |
| April | 92.1% | 152 |
| May | 93.9% | 163 |
| June | 85.2% | 155 |
| July | 82.7% | 168 |
| August | 89.9% | 168 |
| September | 90.6% | 159 |
| October | 85.4% | 158 |
| November | 90.2% | 156 |
| December | 76.5% | 158 |
Airlines at BRD
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BRD, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 86.5% | 107 min | 0.9% | 1,902 |
What delays out of BRD were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 284 flights that departed BRD and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 65.4% put down to airline operations and 26.1% to severe weather.
- Late-arriving aircraft 0%
- Airline operations 65.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 8.2%
- Severe weather 26.1%
- Security 0.3%
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 BRD
Of 1,903 scheduled arrivals into BRD, 84.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 278 arrivals that ran late, 42.4% 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 BRD
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.
- MSP 84.9% on time · 1,902 flights
BRD in one number
Brainerd Lakes (BRD)
Rank 289 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 10am–12pm. Hardest month: December.
Questions about BRD
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Brainerd Lakes?
- 10am–12pm. Departures in that band left on time 87.7% of the time across 684 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 84.4%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BRD?
- December: 76.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 158 scheduled. May was the other end of the year at 93.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at BRD?
- 0.9% 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.