Best time to fly out of Indianapolis (IND)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Indianapolis: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.4% of the time, against 65.8% 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 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 91 | 90 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 90 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 90 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 87 | 88 | 91 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 88 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 80 | 81 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 84 | 81 | 78 | 75 | 77 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 81 | 79 | 74 | 75 | 75 | 70 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 74 | 74 | 68 | 68 | 70 | 64 |
| 8–10pm | 66 | 76 | 73 | 63 | 66 | 65 | 60 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at IND was Before 6am — 94.4% of departures left on time across 6,996 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 65.8%. 6–8am departures from IND left on time 92.2% of the time across 30,600 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.5% across 17,949. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at IND
July was the hard month at IND: 75.7% of departures left on time, across 12,487 flights. November was the easy one at 87.8%. 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 | 82.4% | 10,727 |
| February | 85.7% | 10,192 |
| March | 80.9% | 12,879 |
| April | 85% | 12,193 |
| May | 80.4% | 12,639 |
| June | 79.4% | 12,567 |
| July | 75.7% | 12,487 |
| August | 83% | 11,747 |
| September | 86.6% | 11,305 |
| October | 87.3% | 12,972 |
| November | 87.8% | 11,539 |
| December | 81% | 11,476 |
Airlines at IND
Every airline with at least 100 departures from IND, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Airways | 87.9% | 66 min | 2.1% | 39,155 |
| Southwest Airlines | 78.6% | 53 min | 0.7% | 36,053 |
| American Airlines | 80.6% | 103 min | 1.6% | 19,689 |
| Delta Air Lines | 88.4% | 85 min | 0.9% | 13,139 |
| United Airlines | 83.6% | 73 min | 1.4% | 7,628 |
| Spirit Airlines | 78.7% | 81 min | 2.5% | 5,822 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.5% | 87 min | 1% | 4,703 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81% | 100 min | 2.1% | 4,287 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.3% | 85 min | 2.5% | 3,668 |
| Envoy Air | 82.8% | 76 min | 1.6% | 2,993 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.6% | 90 min | 2.2% | 2,637 |
| Alaska Airlines | 73.6% | 52 min | 1.4% | 1,624 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.2% | 107 min | 6.1% | 1,325 |
Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.
What delays out of IND were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 25,375 flights that departed IND and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.2%
- Airline operations 29%
- Air traffic & airport volume 27.7%
- Severe weather 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 IND
Of 142,732 scheduled arrivals into IND, 77% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 30,358 arrivals that ran late, 53.4% 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 IND
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.
- ORD 81.7% on time · 13,332 flights
- ATL 86.6% on time · 9,818 flights
- DEN 80.2% on time · 7,815 flights
- LGA 85.3% on time · 7,746 flights
- MCO 80.6% on time · 7,213 flights
- EWR 84.7% on time · 6,586 flights
- DCA 81% on time · 6,052 flights
- BOS 81.9% on time · 5,944 flights
- DFW 78.2% on time · 5,822 flights
- CLT 79.1% on time · 5,663 flights
IND in one number
Indianapolis (IND)
Rank 41 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about IND
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Indianapolis?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.4% of the time across 6,996 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 65.8%.
- Is the early flight out of IND really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from IND left on time 92.2% of the time across 30,600 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.5% across 17,949. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of IND?
- July: 75.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 12,487 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 87.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at IND?
- Delta Air Lines — 88.4% of its 13,139 departures from IND left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 73.6% over 1,624 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 IND?
- 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.