Best time to fly out of Fort Lauderdale (FLL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Fort Lauderdale Hollywood: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.1% of the time, against 54.9% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 89 | 91 | 95 | 96 | 93 | 92 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 89 | 91 | 93 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 84 | 86 | 90 | 86 | 84 | 84 | 82 |
| 10am–12pm | 78 | 82 | 82 | 79 | 77 | 77 | 75 |
| 12–2pm | 70 | 78 | 77 | 72 | 69 | 68 | 64 |
| 2–4pm | 65 | 74 | 75 | 67 | 64 | 64 | 58 |
| 4–6pm | 60 | 69 | 70 | 62 | 61 | 62 | 54 |
| 6–8pm | 56 | 67 | 66 | 58 | 58 | 58 | 49 |
| 8–10pm | 55 | 69 | 64 | 57 | 58 | 58 | 49 |
| 10pm–12am | 53 | 64 | 61 | 52 | 58 | 53 | 46 |
The steadiest stretch at FLL was Before 6am — 92.1% of departures left on time across 3,864 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 54.9%. 6–8am departures from FLL left on time 90.4% of the time across 47,343 flights; 6–8pm departures, 58.5% across 37,356. That is a gap of 31.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FLL
July was the hard month at FLL: 64.9% of departures left on time, across 21,472 flights. October was the easy one at 79.8%. 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 | 70.2% | 24,959 |
| February | 73.3% | 23,749 |
| March | 66.4% | 27,934 |
| April | 75.9% | 24,742 |
| May | 74.1% | 21,219 |
| June | 72.1% | 19,925 |
| July | 64.9% | 21,472 |
| August | 67.3% | 20,470 |
| September | 76.4% | 18,271 |
| October | 79.8% | 20,647 |
| November | 77.7% | 22,597 |
| December | 67.5% | 25,545 |
Airlines at FLL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FLL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 66.8% | 63 min | 2% | 67,556 |
| JetBlue Airways | 69.8% | 71 min | 1.6% | 59,532 |
| Southwest Airlines | 71.2% | 55 min | 1% | 40,080 |
| Delta Air Lines | 76.5% | 75 min | 1.4% | 37,576 |
| United Airlines | 83.5% | 86 min | 1.5% | 25,226 |
| American Airlines | 76.1% | 102 min | 2% | 20,667 |
| Allegiant Air | 70.1% | 81 min | 1.1% | 11,610 |
| Frontier Airlines | 66.8% | 92 min | 3.2% | 6,662 |
| Alaska Airlines | 74.3% | 57 min | 3.7% | 2,567 |
What delays out of FLL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 72,409 flights that departed FLL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.4%
- Airline operations 31.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 25.1%
- Severe weather 4.5%
- Security 0.6%
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 FLL
Of 271,566 scheduled arrivals into FLL, 72.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 68,429 arrivals that ran late, 51.9% 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 FLL
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 71.7% on time · 22,210 flights
- EWR 73% on time · 15,087 flights
- LGA 72% on time · 13,720 flights
- JFK 72% on time · 11,639 flights
- BWI 74.6% on time · 10,788 flights
- CLT 76.9% on time · 9,895 flights
- BOS 68.7% on time · 9,805 flights
- ORD 71.1% on time · 9,316 flights
- DFW 71.6% on time · 8,893 flights
- PHL 73.3% on time · 8,503 flights
FLL in one number
Fort Lauderdale Hollywood (FLL)
Rank 26 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about FLL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Fort Lauderdale Hollywood?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.1% of the time across 3,864 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 54.9%.
- Is the early flight out of FLL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FLL left on time 90.4% of the time across 47,343 flights; 6–8pm departures, 58.5% across 37,356. That is a gap of 31.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FLL?
- July: 64.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 21,472 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 79.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at FLL?
- United Airlines — 83.5% of its 25,226 departures from FLL left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 66.8% over 6,662 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at FLL?
- 1.6% 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.