Best time to fly out of Daytona Beach (DAB)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Daytona Beach: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 93.3% of the time, against 75.2% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 94 | 89 | 92 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 93 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 87 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 82 | 89 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 80 | 83 | 76 | 76 | 77 | 74 |
| 2–4pm | 82 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 83 | 76 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 78 | 81 | 81 | 77 | 72 | 65 |
| 6–8pm | 77 | 76 | 80 | 76 | 78 | 72 | 69 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at DAB was 6–8am — 93.3% of departures left on time across 2,055 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 75.2%. 6–8am departures from DAB left on time 93.3% of the time across 2,055 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.4% across 1,107. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at DAB
May was the hard month at DAB: 74.4% of departures left on time, across 854 flights. October was the easy one at 93.2%. 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 | 84.5% | 728 |
| February | 83.5% | 739 |
| March | 82.7% | 828 |
| April | 85.2% | 808 |
| May | 74.4% | 854 |
| June | 81.7% | 817 |
| July | 75.5% | 751 |
| August | 81.2% | 723 |
| September | 86.8% | 673 |
| October | 93.2% | 698 |
| November | 89.5% | 637 |
| December | 80.9% | 739 |
Airlines at DAB
Every airline with at least 100 departures from DAB, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 85.9% | 81 min | 1.4% | 4,441 |
| PSA Airlines | 80.7% | 88 min | 3.1% | 3,208 |
| American Airlines | 80.9% | 108 min | 0.5% | 912 |
| JetBlue Airways | 74.9% | 82 min | 2.9% | 418 |
What delays out of DAB were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,316 flights that departed DAB and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 45.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 33.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 45.6%
- Airline operations 33.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 11.1%
- Severe weather 9.3%
- Security 0.2%
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 DAB
Of 8,995 scheduled arrivals into DAB, 80.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,578 arrivals that ran late, 54.2% 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 DAB
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.
- ATL 87.3% on time · 4,430 flights
- CLT 84% on time · 4,051 flights
- BOS 62.7% on time · 209 flights
- JFK 85.6% on time · 209 flights
- DCA Not enough flights to say · 40 flights
- PHL Not enough flights to say · 35 flights
- DFW Not enough flights to say · 10 flights
- DTW Not enough flights to say · 6 flights
- LGA Not enough flights to say · 5 flights
DAB in one number
Daytona Beach (DAB)
Rank 170 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: May.
Questions about DAB
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Daytona Beach?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 93.3% of the time across 2,055 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 75.2%.
- Is the early flight out of DAB really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from DAB left on time 93.3% of the time across 2,055 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.4% across 1,107. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of DAB?
- May: 74.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 854 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 93.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at DAB?
- Delta Air Lines — 85.9% of its 4,441 departures from DAB left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 74.9% over 418 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at DAB?
- 2% 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.