Best time to fly out of Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Flagstaff Pulliam: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 88.2% of the time, against 73.6% in the 12–2pm 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 | 81 | 88 | 90 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 88 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 81 | 86 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 79 | 75 | 71 | 70 | 76 | 72 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | 83 | – | – | 83 | 78 | – | 77 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at FLG was 6–8am — 88.2% of departures left on time across 1,080 flights. The weakest was 12–2pm at 73.6%. 6–8am departures from FLG left on time 88.2% of the time across 1,080 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.8% across 421. That is a gap of 8.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FLG
March was the hard month at FLG: 74.7% of departures left on time, across 449 flights. August was the easy one at 90.7%. 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 | 83.6% | 347 |
| February | 78.1% | 359 |
| March | 74.7% | 449 |
| April | 84.6% | 468 |
| May | 82% | 471 |
| June | 76.5% | 389 |
| July | 88.6% | 361 |
| August | 90.7% | 375 |
| September | 88.1% | 415 |
| October | 81.8% | 540 |
| November | 80.3% | 526 |
| December | 86.1% | 471 |
Airlines at FLG
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FLG, 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 | 83.2% | 114 min | 1.1% | 5,130 |
What delays out of FLG were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 917 flights that departed FLG and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 63.4% put down to airline operations and 14.4% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 14.4%
- Airline operations 63.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 8.4%
- Severe weather 13.6%
- 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 FLG
Of 5,170 scheduled arrivals into FLG, 80.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 925 arrivals that ran late, 49.9% 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 FLG
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.
FLG in one number
Flagstaff Pulliam (FLG)
Rank 206 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: March.
Questions about FLG
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Flagstaff Pulliam?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 88.2% of the time across 1,080 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 12–2pm band was the weakest at 73.6%.
- Is the early flight out of FLG really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FLG left on time 88.2% of the time across 1,080 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.8% across 421. That is a gap of 8.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FLG?
- March: 74.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 449 scheduled. August was the other end of the year at 90.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at FLG?
- 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.