Best time to fly out of Blue Grass (LEX)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Blue Grass: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.1% of the time, against 61.4% 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 93 92 96 94 93 90 94
6–8am 88 92 92 92 93 90 89
8–10am 86 86 88 86 89 84 87
10am–12pm 83 84 88 88 87 82 80
12–2pm 84 81 84 81 86 82 79
2–4pm 72 78 79 76 76 74 70
4–6pm 77 83 80 76 75 75 71
6–8pm 78 78 75 71 74 70 67
8–10pm 64 64 65 60 62 62 56
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at LEX was Before 6am — 93.1% of departures left on time across 1,230 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 61.4%. 6–8am departures from LEX left on time 90.8% of the time across 6,828 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 3,007. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at LEX

June was the hard month at LEX: 75.1% of departures left on time, across 2,586 flights. November was the easy one at 86.4%. 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, 81.6%.
Departure on-time share at LEX by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 81.1% 1,894
February 83.3% 1,825
March 83.1% 2,140
April 84.4% 2,340
May 79.5% 2,485
June 75.1% 2,586
July 75.4% 2,464
August 80.8% 2,327
September 86.2% 2,245
October 85% 2,526
November 86.4% 2,110
December 79.9% 1,945

Airlines at LEX

Every airline with at least 100 departures from LEX, 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 88% 84 min 1.4% 5,801
SkyWest Airlines 82% 94 min 1.6% 5,699
PSA Airlines 81.9% 92 min 2.7% 5,630
Envoy Air 82% 67 min 1.7% 2,737
Allegiant Air 64.4% 89 min 1.4% 2,620
Republic Airways 88.8% 77 min 1.5% 2,052
American Airlines 73.2% 118 min 2.1% 1,758
Endeavor Air 86% 101 min 0% 550

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 LEX were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,205 flights that departed LEX and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 37.1% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 40.1% Airline operations 37.1% Air traffic & airport volume 15.5% Severe weather 7.2% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 40.1%
  • Airline operations 37.1%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 15.5%
  • Severe weather 7.2%
  • 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 LEX

Of 26,889 scheduled arrivals into LEX, 76.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,821 arrivals that ran late, 50.7% 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 LEX

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.

LEX in one number

Blue Grass (LEX)

Rank 105 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 26,416 departures flown

81.6% of departures left on time

Questions about LEX

What is the best time of day to fly out of Blue Grass?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.1% of the time across 1,230 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 61.4%.
Is the early flight out of LEX really more reliable?
6–8am departures from LEX left on time 90.8% of the time across 6,828 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 3,007. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of LEX?
June: 75.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,586 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 86.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at LEX?
Republic Airways — 88.8% of its 2,052 departures from LEX left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 64.4% over 2,620 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 LEX?
1.8% 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.