Best time to fly out of Wilmington (ILM)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Wilmington: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.4% of the time, against 65.7% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 96 | 94 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 95 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 93 | 93 | 95 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 85 | 90 | 86 | 87 | 93 | 89 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 89 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 86 | 83 | 86 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 78 | 83 | 80 | 71 | 81 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 79 | 83 | 82 | 82 | 79 | 74 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 78 | 82 | 78 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 72 | 75 | 74 | 73 | 70 | 72 | 64 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | – | – | 66 | 66 | – | 63 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ILM was Before 6am — 93.4% of departures left on time across 1,137 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 65.7%. 6–8am departures from ILM left on time 93% of the time across 5,284 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 2,395. That is a gap of 21.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ILM
July was the hard month at ILM: 76% of departures left on time, across 2,411 flights. October was the easy one at 88.4%. 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 | 84.3% | 1,452 |
| February | 83.7% | 1,342 |
| March | 84.3% | 1,511 |
| April | 83.6% | 1,780 |
| May | 81.9% | 2,078 |
| June | 77.9% | 2,259 |
| July | 76% | 2,411 |
| August | 81.2% | 2,372 |
| September | 86.6% | 2,079 |
| October | 88.4% | 2,158 |
| November | 88.3% | 1,773 |
| December | 81.8% | 1,789 |
Airlines at ILM
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ILM, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 81.1% | 95 min | 2.2% | 5,354 |
| PSA Airlines | 81.4% | 93 min | 3.3% | 4,968 |
| Republic Airways | 85.3% | 83 min | 4.3% | 4,614 |
| Envoy Air | 82.8% | 67 min | 1.3% | 2,963 |
| Delta Air Lines | 85.3% | 90 min | 1.2% | 2,665 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.1% | 79 min | 2.8% | 1,975 |
| JetBlue Airways | 67.4% | 75 min | 1.2% | 242 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.6% | 89 min | 2.7% | 223 |
What delays out of ILM were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,019 flights that departed ILM and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.4%
- Airline operations 28.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.3%
- Severe weather 9.3%
- 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 ILM
Of 23,003 scheduled arrivals into ILM, 77.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,644 arrivals that ran late, 51.4% 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 ILM
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.
- CLT 84% on time · 7,055 flights
- LGA 82.3% on time · 4,031 flights
- ATL 87.8% on time · 3,416 flights
- DCA 74.1% on time · 2,473 flights
- DFW 81% on time · 1,894 flights
- BOS 69.4% on time · 946 flights
- ORD 74.5% on time · 889 flights
- EWR 84.3% on time · 883 flights
- MIA 87.1% on time · 805 flights
- PHL 82.7% on time · 503 flights
ILM in one number
Wilmington (ILM)
Rank 116 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ILM
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Wilmington?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.4% of the time across 1,137 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 65.7%.
- Is the early flight out of ILM really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ILM left on time 93% of the time across 5,284 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 2,395. That is a gap of 21.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ILM?
- July: 76% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,411 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 88.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ILM?
- Republic Airways — 85.3% of its 4,614 departures from ILM left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 67.4% over 242 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ILM?
- 2.7% 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.