Best time to fly out of Sioux Falls (FSD)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Sioux Falls: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 88.8% of the time, against 68.3% in the 8–10pm 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 84 87 91 92 87 85 89
6–8am 87 88 92 92 88 88 86
8–10am 88 87 91 89 86 85 87
10am–12pm 82 86 88 88 84 84 83
12–2pm 75 78 81 81 73 77 75
2–4pm 77 79 81 76 77 81 74
4–6pm 73 73 75 71 76 79 72
6–8pm 69 82 73 67 73 65 63
8–10pm 73 – – – 64 – –
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at FSD was 6–8am — 88.8% of departures left on time across 2,841 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 68.3%. 6–8am departures from FSD left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 1,312. That is a gap of 19.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at FSD

December was the hard month at FSD: 74% of departures left on time, across 1,909 flights. October was the easy one at 85.3%. 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, 80.8%.
Departure on-time share at FSD by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79.3% 1,731
February 83.3% 1,724
March 83% 1,951
April 84.8% 1,925
May 83% 1,975
June 76.2% 1,909
July 74.2% 1,739
August 78.7% 1,645
September 85% 1,678
October 85.3% 1,889
November 82.6% 1,803
December 74% 1,909

Airlines at FSD

Every airline with at least 100 departures from FSD, 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 81.7% 96 min 1.3% 8,459
Allegiant Air 76.7% 86 min 0.5% 2,911
Envoy Air 79.5% 63 min 2.3% 2,790
United Airlines 87% 87 min 1.2% 2,239
Delta Air Lines 87.2% 129 min 1.2% 2,128
American Airlines 71.9% 93 min 2% 1,913
Endeavor Air 82.4% 59 min 0.5% 629
Frontier Airlines 75.3% 81 min 1% 589
Republic Airways 80.8% 70 min 2.2% 181

Endeavor Air (through December 2024) 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 FSD were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,577 flights that departed FSD and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to airline operations and 29.2% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 29.2% Airline operations 37.8% Air traffic & airport volume 19.1% Severe weather 13.7% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 29.2%
  • Airline operations 37.8%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 19.1%
  • Severe weather 13.7%
  • 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 FSD

Of 21,879 scheduled arrivals into FSD, 75.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,954 arrivals that ran late, 52.5% 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 FSD

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.

FSD in one number

Sioux Falls (FSD)

Rank 117 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: December.

July 2023–June 2026 · 21,583 departures flown

80.8% of departures left on time

Questions about FSD

What is the best time of day to fly out of Sioux Falls?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 68.3%.
Is the early flight out of FSD really more reliable?
6–8am departures from FSD left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 1,312. That is a gap of 19.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of FSD?
December: 74% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,909 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at FSD?
Delta Air Lines — 87.2% of its 2,128 departures from FSD left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 71.9% over 1,913 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 FSD?
1.3% 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.