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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
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.
| 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 |
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 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.
- ATL 87.9% on time · 7,503 flights
- DFW 77.1% on time · 5,830 flights
- HOU 84.1% on time · 2,446 flights
- CLT 79.7% on time · 1,339 flights
- DCA 88.2% on time · 922 flights
- BWI 84% on time · 830 flights
- BNA 79.6% on time · 450 flights
- IAH 73.1% on time · 105 flights
- MCO Not enough flights to say · 80 flights
- MIA Not enough flights to say · 17 flights
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.
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?
- Endeavor Air — 90% of its 392 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.
- 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.