Best time to fly out of Helena (HLN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Helena: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 96.4% of the time, against 78.2% in the 2–4pm 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 | 94 | 98 | 96 | 98 | 96 | 97 | 96 |
| 6–8am | 93 | 93 | 91 | 92 | 87 | 94 | 91 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 92 | 95 | 89 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 95 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 81 | 77 | 75 | 76 | 82 | 81 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at HLN was Before 6am — 96.4% of departures left on time across 833 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 78.2%.
The year at HLN
June was the hard month at HLN: 82.7% of departures left on time, across 390 flights. March was the easy one at 93.5%. 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 | 83.5% | 433 |
| February | 86.8% | 381 |
| March | 93.5% | 385 |
| April | 91.3% | 369 |
| May | 90.4% | 396 |
| June | 82.7% | 390 |
| July | 84.8% | 432 |
| August | 85.2% | 434 |
| September | 88.9% | 395 |
| October | 90.6% | 416 |
| November | 90.5% | 373 |
| December | 90.7% | 401 |
Airlines at HLN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HLN, 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 | 88.1% | 122 min | 0.6% | 4,805 |
What delays out of HLN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 687 flights that departed HLN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 48.7% put down to airline operations and 19.5% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 19.5%
- Airline operations 48.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.2%
- Severe weather 12.6%
- Security 0%
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 HLN
Of 4,805 scheduled arrivals into HLN, 85.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 645 arrivals that ran late, 51.3% 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 HLN
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.
HLN in one number
Helena (HLN)
Rank 211 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about HLN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Helena?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 96.4% of the time across 833 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 78.2%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HLN?
- June: 82.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 390 scheduled. March was the other end of the year at 93.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at HLN?
- 0.6% 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.