Best time to fly out of Gerald R. Ford (GRR)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Gerald R. Ford: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90% of the time, against 70.2% 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 91 88 89 92 90 86 90
6–8am 89 89 92 92 89 89 90
8–10am 89 88 91 88 90 86 88
10am–12pm 87 87 89 85 85 84 85
12–2pm 81 86 83 81 80 83 81
2–4pm 77 80 77 72 74 77 71
4–6pm 77 78 76 74 73 78 74
6–8pm 74 76 77 74 75 70 72
8–10pm 70 – – 68 77 67 68
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at GRR was 6–8am — 90% of departures left on time across 12,812 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 70.2%. 6–8am departures from GRR left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.9% across 6,388. That is a gap of 16.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at GRR

July was the hard month at GRR: 76.5% of departures left on time, across 4,683 flights. October was the easy one at 88.1%. 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, 82.2%.
Departure on-time share at GRR by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 76.8% 4,296
February 83% 4,109
March 81.7% 4,968
April 85.1% 4,701
May 83.8% 4,698
June 78% 4,814
July 76.5% 4,683
August 81.5% 4,489
September 86.6% 4,355
October 88.1% 4,704
November 85.9% 4,430
December 78.9% 4,689

Airlines at GRR

Every airline with at least 100 departures from GRR, 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
Delta Air Lines 87.9% 85 min 0.9% 7,664
American Airlines 77% 110 min 1.8% 7,600
Allegiant Air 81.8% 75 min 0.5% 7,107
SkyWest Airlines 78.2% 95 min 1.5% 6,689
Republic Airways 87.3% 81 min 3% 6,487
Southwest Airlines 80.1% 52 min 0.4% 6,140
United Airlines 85.3% 83 min 0.9% 4,863
Envoy Air 79.2% 69 min 2.2% 2,465
PSA Airlines 80.8% 123 min 3.6% 2,459
Frontier Airlines 76.7% 106 min 2.1% 1,850
Endeavor Air 88.1% 76 min 3% 1,612

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 GRR were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 11,108 flights that departed GRR and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.8% put down to airline operations and 32.3% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 32.3% Airline operations 36.8% Air traffic & airport volume 22.2% Severe weather 8.5% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 32.3%
  • Airline operations 36.8%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 22.2%
  • Severe weather 8.5%
  • 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 GRR

Of 54,943 scheduled arrivals into GRR, 75.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,492 arrivals that ran late, 52.3% 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 GRR

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.

GRR in one number

Gerald R. Ford (GRR)

Rank 72 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 54,103 departures flown

82.2% of departures left on time

Questions about GRR

What is the best time of day to fly out of Gerald R. Ford?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 70.2%.
Is the early flight out of GRR really more reliable?
6–8am departures from GRR left on time 90% of the time across 12,812 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.9% across 6,388. That is a gap of 16.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of GRR?
July: 76.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,683 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 88.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at GRR?
Delta Air Lines — 87.9% of its 7,664 departures from GRR left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 76.7% over 1,850 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 GRR?
1.5% 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.