Best time to fly out of Kansas City (MCI)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Kansas City: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 93.2% of the time, against 57.9% in the 10pm–12am 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 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 95 | 93 | 92 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 | 93 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 89 | 92 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 87 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 85 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 84 | 84 | 80 | 77 | 81 | 78 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 82 | 82 | 76 | 73 | 76 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 76 | 74 | 67 | 69 | 72 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 74 | 73 | 68 | 69 | 69 | 62 |
| 8–10pm | 66 | 71 | 68 | 61 | 66 | 63 | 59 |
| 10pm–12am | 64 | – | – | 62 | 54 | – | 52 |
The steadiest stretch at MCI was 6–8am — 93.2% of departures left on time across 27,468 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 57.9%. 6–8am departures from MCI left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 16,938. That is a gap of 24.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MCI
July was the hard month at MCI: 74.4% of departures left on time, across 13,520 flights. November was the easy one at 85.7%. 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 | 81.3% | 10,769 |
| February | 84.1% | 10,358 |
| March | 81.3% | 12,425 |
| April | 82.2% | 12,259 |
| May | 78.2% | 13,063 |
| June | 75.5% | 13,426 |
| July | 74.4% | 13,520 |
| August | 81.5% | 12,973 |
| September | 85.2% | 12,173 |
| October | 85.2% | 12,956 |
| November | 85.7% | 11,995 |
| December | 81% | 12,005 |
Airlines at MCI
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MCI, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 78.1% | 52 min | 0.9% | 72,052 |
| Delta Air Lines | 88.2% | 93 min | 1.2% | 22,581 |
| American Airlines | 79.6% | 106 min | 1.8% | 16,178 |
| United Airlines | 86.8% | 86 min | 1.3% | 10,741 |
| Republic Airways | 87.1% | 96 min | 2.4% | 4,793 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 82.5% | 104 min | 2.2% | 4,442 |
| Spirit Airlines | 80% | 80 min | 2.3% | 3,815 |
| Envoy Air | 82.2% | 70 min | 2.2% | 3,763 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.8% | 129 min | 5.3% | 2,765 |
| Alaska Airlines | 87.1% | 58 min | 0.9% | 2,575 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.2% | 95 min | 4.1% | 1,957 |
| Frontier Airlines | 72.7% | 85 min | 1% | 1,138 |
| Allegiant Air | 70.6% | 74 min | 1.1% | 708 |
| JetBlue Airways | 62% | 133 min | 2.7% | 414 |
Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.
What delays out of MCI were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 27,509 flights that departed MCI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 44.1%
- Airline operations 29%
- Air traffic & airport volume 21.1%
- Severe weather 5.6%
- 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 MCI
Of 147,922 scheduled arrivals into MCI, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 32,299 arrivals that ran late, 57.2% 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 MCI
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.
- DEN 78.2% on time · 12,773 flights
- ORD 79.2% on time · 10,569 flights
- ATL 87.2% on time · 9,832 flights
- PHX 81.6% on time · 7,630 flights
- DFW 74.7% on time · 7,517 flights
- MDW 82.8% on time · 6,510 flights
- DAL 81.8% on time · 6,137 flights
- LAS 81.4% on time · 6,121 flights
- LGA 81.6% on time · 5,675 flights
- DCA 77.6% on time · 5,636 flights
MCI in one number
Kansas City (MCI)
Rank 39 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MCI
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Kansas City?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 57.9%.
- Is the early flight out of MCI really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MCI left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 16,938. That is a gap of 24.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MCI?
- July: 74.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 13,520 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 85.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MCI?
- Delta Air Lines — 88.2% of its 22,581 departures from MCI left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 62% over 414 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 MCI?
- 1.4% 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.