Best time to fly out of Columbia (COU)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Columbia: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.4% of the time, against 69.9% in the 6–8pm 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 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 88 | 92 | 86 | 91 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 80 | 80 | 79 | 80 | 79 | 72 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | 76 | 75 | 74 | 66 | 72 | 72 | 63 |
| 6–8pm | 68 | 67 | 79 | 66 | 74 | 67 | 70 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at COU was 6–8am — 90.4% of departures left on time across 1,750 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 69.9%. 6–8am departures from COU left on time 90.4% of the time across 1,750 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.9% across 924. That is a gap of 20.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at COU
June was the hard month at COU: 73.9% of departures left on time, across 701 flights. February was the easy one at 85.9%. 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 | 76% | 586 |
| February | 85.9% | 536 |
| March | 80.1% | 621 |
| April | 79.6% | 631 |
| May | 82% | 670 |
| June | 73.9% | 701 |
| July | 75.5% | 470 |
| August | 82.4% | 459 |
| September | 81.1% | 480 |
| October | 85.6% | 610 |
| November | 80.9% | 552 |
| December | 75.1% | 603 |
Airlines at COU
Every airline with at least 100 departures from COU, 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 | 80.8% | 79 min | 2.4% | 5,473 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 76.1% | 132 min | 4.3% | 1,421 |
What delays out of COU were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,518 flights that departed COU and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 27.6% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.8%
- Airline operations 27.6%
- Air traffic & airport volume 17.3%
- Severe weather 16.3%
- Security 0%
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 COU
Of 6,923 scheduled arrivals into COU, 73.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,608 arrivals that ran late, 53.1% 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 COU
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.
COU in one number
Columbia (COU)
Rank 188 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about COU
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Columbia?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.4% of the time across 1,750 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 69.9%.
- Is the early flight out of COU really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from COU left on time 90.4% of the time across 1,750 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.9% across 924. That is a gap of 20.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of COU?
- June: 73.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 701 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 85.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at COU?
- Envoy Air — 80.8% of its 5,473 departures from COU left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 76.1% over 1,421 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at COU?
- 2.8% 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.