Best time to fly out of Hilo (ITO)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hilo: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 96.2% of the time, against 79.4% in the 4–6pm 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 96 | 96 | 96 | 97 | 97 | 94 | 99 |
| 8–10am | 92 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 93 | 95 | 97 |
| 10am–12pm | 94 | 92 | 94 | 89 | 88 | 94 | 93 |
| 12–2pm | 90 | 90 | 88 | 89 | 83 | 91 | 91 |
| 2–4pm | 83 | 83 | 81 | 82 | 79 | 87 | 83 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 83 | 83 | 76 | 73 | 84 | 81 |
| 6–8pm | 89 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 83 | 91 | 88 |
| 8–10pm | 90 | – | – | 89 | 81 | 90 | 83 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ITO was 6–8am — 96.2% of departures left on time across 3,524 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 79.4%. 6–8am departures from ITO left on time 96.2% of the time across 3,524 flights; 6–8pm departures, 87.9% across 3,175. That is a gap of 8.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ITO
January was the hard month at ITO: 85.3% of departures left on time, across 1,734 flights. September was the easy one at 95.1%. 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 | 85.3% | 1,734 |
| February | 90.4% | 1,577 |
| March | 86.8% | 1,696 |
| April | 87.2% | 1,719 |
| May | 85.4% | 1,714 |
| June | 88.6% | 1,643 |
| July | 91.4% | 1,817 |
| August | 93% | 1,792 |
| September | 95.1% | 1,674 |
| October | 89.6% | 1,711 |
| November | 91.2% | 1,687 |
| December | 88.1% | 1,731 |
Airlines at ITO
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ITO, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian Airlines | 88.6% | 39 min | 0.8% | 12,557 |
| Southwest Airlines | 95.3% | 51 min | 0.6% | 5,514 |
| Alaska Airlines | 79.1% | 43 min | 1.9% | 2,424 |
What delays out of ITO were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,421 flights that departed ITO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 62.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 27.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 62.7%
- Airline operations 27.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 6.3%
- Severe weather 3.1%
- Security 0.5%
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 ITO
Of 20,498 scheduled arrivals into ITO, 86.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,613 arrivals that ran late, 75.7% 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 ITO
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.
ITO in one number
Hilo (ITO)
Rank 121 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about ITO
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Hilo?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 96.2% of the time across 3,524 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 79.4%.
- Is the early flight out of ITO really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ITO left on time 96.2% of the time across 3,524 flights; 6–8pm departures, 87.9% across 3,175. That is a gap of 8.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ITO?
- January: 85.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,734 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 95.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ITO?
- Southwest Airlines — 95.3% of its 5,514 departures from ITO left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 79.1% over 2,424 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ITO?
- 0.9% 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.