Best time to fly out of Valley (HRL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Valley: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94.9% of the time, against 74.1% in the 6–8pm 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 | 93 | 94 | 93 | 96 | 94 | 93 | 95 |
| 6–8am | 94 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 96 | 92 | 97 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 88 | 89 | 88 | 90 | 85 | 84 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 83 | 84 | 79 | 76 | 86 | 75 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 81 | 82 | 83 | 83 | 79 | 79 | 76 |
| 4–6pm | 74 | 77 | 77 | 73 | 70 | 75 | 76 |
| 6–8pm | 74 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 67 | 76 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | 78 | – | – | 80 | 78 | – | 74 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at HRL was 6–8am — 94.9% of departures left on time across 1,724 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 74.1%. 6–8am departures from HRL left on time 94.9% of the time across 1,724 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.1% across 1,391. That is a gap of 20.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at HRL
June was the hard month at HRL: 74.9% of departures left on time, across 970 flights. February was the easy one at 89.8%. 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 | 85.8% | 1,046 |
| February | 89.8% | 962 |
| March | 83.2% | 1,091 |
| April | 82.8% | 1,102 |
| May | 75.5% | 1,068 |
| June | 74.9% | 970 |
| July | 76.3% | 968 |
| August | 87.2% | 977 |
| September | 87.5% | 1,015 |
| October | 88.3% | 1,071 |
| November | 87.7% | 1,099 |
| December | 83.8% | 1,126 |
Airlines at HRL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HRL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 82.3% | 57 min | 0.9% | 6,723 |
| Envoy Air | 85.5% | 73 min | 2.3% | 4,276 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 82.3% | 83 min | 3.9% | 753 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.9% | 55 min | 0.9% | 539 |
| PSA Airlines | 84.9% | — | 5.9% | 204 |
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 HRL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,001 flights that departed HRL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 47.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 23.1% to air traffic & airport volume.
- Late-arriving aircraft 47.9%
- Airline operations 22.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 23.1%
- Severe weather 6.6%
- 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 HRL
Of 12,496 scheduled arrivals into HRL, 79.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,337 arrivals that ran late, 61.9% 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 HRL
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.
HRL in one number
Valley (HRL)
Rank 154 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about HRL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Valley?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94.9% of the time across 1,724 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 74.1%.
- Is the early flight out of HRL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from HRL left on time 94.9% of the time across 1,724 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.1% across 1,391. That is a gap of 20.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HRL?
- June: 74.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 970 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 89.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at HRL?
- Delta Air Lines — 86.9% of its 539 departures from HRL left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 82.3% over 753 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at HRL?
- 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.