Best time to fly out of Grand Forks (GFK)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Grand Forks: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.3% of the time, against 82.4% in the 4–6pm 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 | 91 | 90 | 92 | 94 | 95 | 90 | 88 |
| 6–8am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 88 | 88 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 87 | 89 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | 80 | 82 | 85 | 83 | 80 | 82 | 86 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at GFK was Before 6am — 91.3% of departures left on time across 878 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 82.4%.
The year at GFK
January was the hard month at GFK: 75.9% of departures left on time, across 273 flights. November was the easy one at 91.7%. 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 | 75.9% | 273 |
| February | 86.3% | 267 |
| March | 83.8% | 272 |
| April | 90.6% | 266 |
| May | 87.8% | 288 |
| June | 86.9% | 284 |
| July | 84.7% | 249 |
| August | 87.1% | 286 |
| September | 87.8% | 295 |
| October | 89.8% | 332 |
| November | 91.7% | 317 |
| December | 76.9% | 262 |
Airlines at GFK
Every airline with at least 100 departures from GFK, 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 | 87.4% | 89 min | 0.9% | 2,694 |
| Allegiant Air | 80.1% | 98 min | 0.9% | 552 |
| Endeavor Air | 81.7% | — | 5.3% | 133 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
What delays out of GFK were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 509 flights that departed GFK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 49.6% put down to airline operations and 25.4% to severe weather.
- Late-arriving aircraft 11.9%
- Airline operations 49.6%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13%
- Severe weather 25.4%
- 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 GFK
Of 3,391 scheduled arrivals into GFK, 84.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 492 arrivals that ran late, 56.1% 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 GFK
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.
GFK in one number
Grand Forks (GFK)
Rank 226 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about GFK
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Grand Forks?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.3% of the time across 878 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 82.4%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of GFK?
- January: 75.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 273 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 91.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at GFK?
- SkyWest Airlines — 87.4% of its 2,694 departures from GFK left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 80.1% over 552 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at GFK?
- 1.1% 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.