Best time to fly out of Baton Rouge (BTR)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Baton Rouge: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.2% of the time, against 71.9% in the 4–6pm 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 | 84 | 94 | 93 | 96 | 89 | 91 | 85 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 90 | 94 | 89 | 90 | 89 | 87 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 80 | 82 | 80 | 81 | 84 | 82 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 77 | 83 | 82 | 75 | 75 | 82 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 84 | 81 | 80 | 72 | 70 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 77 | 76 | 71 | 68 | 72 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 73 | 80 | 81 | 71 | 72 | 68 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BTR was Before 6am — 90.2% of departures left on time across 1,152 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 71.9%. 6–8am departures from BTR left on time 89.6% of the time across 3,688 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.8% across 1,477. That is a gap of 16.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at BTR
May was the hard month at BTR: 76.5% of departures left on time, across 1,206 flights. October was the easy one at 87.4%. 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 | 78.8% | 1,100 |
| February | 81.9% | 1,009 |
| March | 79.2% | 1,087 |
| April | 79.6% | 1,243 |
| May | 76.5% | 1,206 |
| June | 77% | 1,155 |
| July | 79.5% | 1,206 |
| August | 80.4% | 1,207 |
| September | 86.6% | 1,159 |
| October | 87.4% | 1,248 |
| November | 86.2% | 1,341 |
| December | 80.5% | 1,160 |
Airlines at BTR
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BTR, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 79.6% | 108 min | 3.1% | 5,896 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.4% | 82 min | 1.5% | 2,951 |
| Envoy Air | 81.7% | 73 min | 2% | 2,739 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 78.5% | 95 min | 2.7% | 1,929 |
| Endeavor Air | 89.3% | 113 min | 1.5% | 591 |
What delays out of BTR were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,607 flights that departed BTR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 37.7% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.8%
- Airline operations 37.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 11.4%
- Severe weather 12%
- 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 BTR
Of 14,123 scheduled arrivals into BTR, 76.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,884 arrivals that ran late, 49.2% 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 BTR
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.
- DFW 78.1% on time · 5,960 flights
- ATL 86.4% on time · 3,729 flights
- CLT 79.4% on time · 2,459 flights
- IAH 76.6% on time · 1,028 flights
- DCA 86.8% on time · 936 flights
- LAS Not enough flights to say · 3 flights
- BHM Not enough flights to say · 2 flights
- MCO Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
- XNA Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
- OKC Not enough flights to say · 1 flights
BTR in one number
Baton Rouge (BTR)
Rank 144 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: May.
Questions about BTR
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Baton Rouge?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.2% of the time across 1,152 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 71.9%.
- Is the early flight out of BTR really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from BTR left on time 89.6% of the time across 3,688 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.8% across 1,477. That is a gap of 16.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BTR?
- May: 76.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,206 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at BTR?
- Endeavor Air — 89.3% of its 591 departures from BTR left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 78.5% over 1,929 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at BTR?
- 2.4% 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.