Best time to fly out of Kona (KOA)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Ellison Onizuka Kona at Keāhole: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 96% of the time, against 81.9% in the 2–4pm 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 – – – – – – –
6–8am 98 96 97 96 95 95 96
8–10am 96 95 95 96 95 94 96
10am–12pm 91 93 91 90 91 88 93
12–2pm 84 85 84 82 81 82 85
2–4pm 86 84 84 80 77 82 82
4–6pm 84 87 85 83 78 85 85
6–8pm 88 89 92 88 83 88 88
8–10pm 91 92 93 89 87 87 90
10pm–12am 92 92 90 93 88 88 91
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at KOA was 6–8am — 96% of departures left on time across 3,615 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 81.9%. 6–8am departures from KOA left on time 96% of the time across 3,615 flights; 6–8pm departures, 87.8% across 4,140. That is a gap of 8.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at KOA

January was the hard month at KOA: 85.2% of departures left on time, across 4,203 flights. September was the easy one at 92.6%. 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, 88.1%.
Departure on-time share at KOA by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 85.2% 4,203
February 86.8% 3,789
March 87% 4,214
April 88.4% 3,863
May 88.7% 4,005
June 88.6% 4,099
July 86.9% 4,379
August 88.8% 4,264
September 92.6% 3,980
October 87.9% 4,088
November 90.4% 3,914
December 86% 4,243

Airlines at KOA

Every airline with at least 100 departures from KOA, 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 89.2% 45 min 0.8% 19,295
Alaska Airlines 80.5% 55 min 1.5% 10,375
Southwest Airlines 93.7% 50 min 0.6% 9,763
United Airlines 88.4% 96 min 1.2% 4,966
American Airlines 89.7% 232 min 0.6% 2,355
Delta Air Lines 86.3% 66 min 1.9% 2,287

Hawaiian Airlines (through December 2025) 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 KOA were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 6,089 flights that departed KOA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 50.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 36.4% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 50.1% Airline operations 36.4% Air traffic & airport volume 10.3% Severe weather 2.9% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 50.1%
  • Airline operations 36.4%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 10.3%
  • Severe weather 2.9%
  • 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 KOA

Of 49,041 scheduled arrivals into KOA, 84.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 7,266 arrivals that ran late, 70.2% 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 KOA

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.

KOA in one number

Ellison Onizuka Kona at Keāhole (KOA)

Rank 79 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.

July 2023–June 2026 · 48,550 departures flown

88.1% of departures left on time

Questions about KOA

What is the best time of day to fly out of Ellison Onizuka Kona at Keāhole?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 96% of the time across 3,615 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 81.9%.
Is the early flight out of KOA really more reliable?
6–8am departures from KOA left on time 96% of the time across 3,615 flights; 6–8pm departures, 87.8% across 4,140. That is a gap of 8.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of KOA?
January: 85.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,203 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 92.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at KOA?
Southwest Airlines — 93.7% of its 9,763 departures from KOA left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 80.5% over 10,375 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 KOA?
1% 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.