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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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 – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 82.9%.
Departure on-time share at ILM by calendar month
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

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 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 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.

ILM in one number

Wilmington (ILM)

Rank 116 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 22,389 departures flown

82.9% of departures left on time

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. 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 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.