Best time to fly out of Detroit Wayne (DTW)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Detroit Wayne: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.5% of the time, against 70.1% in the 10pm–12am 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 93 93 92 91 92 90 89
6–8am 89 91 92 91 89 88 89
8–10am 87 89 91 88 87 87 87
10am–12pm 85 85 88 86 84 86 83
12–2pm 80 84 85 82 81 84 80
2–4pm 77 81 81 78 76 80 74
4–6pm 75 78 78 74 73 78 73
6–8pm 71 77 76 71 71 73 68
8–10pm 75 80 79 75 74 81 69
10pm–12am 71 76 74 65 69 76 65
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at DTW was Before 6am — 91.5% of departures left on time across 6,399 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 70.1%. 6–8am departures from DTW left on time 89.7% of the time across 38,001 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.2% across 29,466. That is a gap of 17.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at DTW

July was the hard month at DTW: 73.9% of departures left on time, across 33,998 flights. October was the easy one at 87.6%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 80.9%.
Departure on-time share at DTW by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 74.7% 28,244
February 81.8% 26,799
March 79.6% 31,830
April 84.3% 31,245
May 81.4% 31,960
June 77.4% 32,047
July 73.9% 33,998
August 79.1% 33,961
September 87% 31,998
October 87.6% 33,894
November 86.3% 31,193
December 77.8% 31,014

Airlines at DTW

Every airline with at least 100 departures from DTW, 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 81.1% 69 min 0.9% 178,164
SkyWest Airlines 78.7% 91 min 1.2% 77,843
Spirit Airlines 79.6% 66 min 1.6% 30,207
Endeavor Air 88% 73 min 0.8% 21,464
American Airlines 82.8% 107 min 1.7% 15,940
Republic Airways 87.5% 81 min 2.6% 15,462
Southwest Airlines 78% 49 min 0.7% 12,624
Frontier Airlines 71.6% 86 min 2.2% 7,636
United Airlines 85.4% 86 min 1.2% 6,996
PSA Airlines 82.3% 126 min 4.5% 4,308
JetBlue Airways 77.2% 99 min 2.4% 3,600
Envoy Air 81.2% 72 min 2.8% 2,360
Alaska Airlines 76.5% 45 min 0.8% 1,579

What delays out of DTW were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 75,500 flights that departed DTW and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 50.7% put down to airline operations and 20.9% to air traffic & airport volume.

Late-arriving aircraft 20.4% Airline operations 50.7% Air traffic & airport volume 20.9% Severe weather 7.9% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 20.4%
  • Airline operations 50.7%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 20.9%
  • Severe weather 7.9%
  • 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 DTW

Of 378,166 scheduled arrivals into DTW, 80.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 69,172 arrivals that ran late, 49.8% 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 DTW

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.

DTW in one number

Detroit Wayne (DTW)

Rank 15 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 373,527 departures flown

80.9% of departures left on time

Questions about DTW

What is the best time of day to fly out of Detroit Wayne?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.5% of the time across 6,399 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 70.1%.
Is the early flight out of DTW really more reliable?
6–8am departures from DTW left on time 89.7% of the time across 38,001 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.2% across 29,466. That is a gap of 17.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of DTW?
July: 73.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 33,998 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at DTW?
Endeavor Air — 88% of its 21,464 departures from DTW left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 71.6% over 7,636 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at DTW?
1.2% 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.