Best time to fly out of Jackson (JAN)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.5% of the time, against 57.3% 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 89 92 91 94 91 89 89
6–8am 91 91 94 96 91 92 92
8–10am 84 88 88 86 86 82 81
10am–12pm 79 88 83 83 82 87 84
12–2pm 80 84 84 80 81 80 80
2–4pm 82 85 83 78 79 80 74
4–6pm 72 76 77 70 72 72 66
6–8pm 74 77 74 74 73 74 67
8–10pm – – – – – – 57
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at JAN was 6–8am — 92.5% of departures left on time across 3,739 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 57.3%. 6–8am departures from JAN left on time 92.5% of the time across 3,739 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 2,342. That is a gap of 19.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at JAN

June was the hard month at JAN: 75% of departures left on time, across 1,699 flights. September was the easy one at 88.6%. 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 JAN by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 84.3% 1,502
February 86.4% 1,355
March 81.6% 1,426
April 82% 1,562
May 78% 1,753
June 75% 1,699
July 75.1% 1,830
August 85.3% 1,727
September 88.6% 1,688
October 87.7% 1,759
November 87.4% 1,640
December 84.5% 1,582

Airlines at JAN

Every airline with at least 100 departures from JAN, 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
Delta Air Lines 87.5% 86 min 1.1% 5,935
Southwest Airlines 82.3% 61 min 0.7% 4,983
PSA Airlines 79.7% 119 min 3.5% 4,357
Envoy Air 80.1% 66 min 1.9% 2,658
SkyWest Airlines 77.4% 94 min 2.7% 1,166
Endeavor Air 90% 79 min 0.3% 392

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 JAN were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,222 flights that departed JAN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 35.1% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 41.6% Airline operations 35.1% Air traffic & airport volume 13% Severe weather 10.2% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 41.6%
  • Airline operations 35.1%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 13%
  • Severe weather 10.2%
  • Security 0.2%

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 JAN

Of 19,525 scheduled arrivals into JAN, 77.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,954 arrivals that ran late, 54.9% 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 JAN

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.

JAN in one number

Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers (JAN)

Rank 124 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 19,191 departures flown

82.9% of departures left on time

Questions about JAN

What is the best time of day to fly out of Jackson-Medgar Wiley Evers?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.5% of the time across 3,739 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 57.3%.
Is the early flight out of JAN really more reliable?
6–8am departures from JAN left on time 92.5% of the time across 3,739 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 2,342. That is a gap of 19.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of JAN?
June: 75% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,699 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at JAN?
Delta Air Lines — 87.5% of its 5,935 departures from JAN left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 77.4% over 1,166 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 JAN?
1.7% 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.