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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 71.9%.
Departure on-time share at FLL by calendar month
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

Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

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 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.

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.

July 2023–June 2026 · 267,084 departures flown

71.9% of departures left on time

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. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
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.