Best time to fly out of Harrisburg (MDT)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Harrisburg: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.1% of the time, against 61.1% 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 – – – – – – –
6–8am 89 88 94 92 91 88 88
8–10am 85 94 93 90 85 92 90
10am–12pm 81 83 83 83 80 78 74
12–2pm 77 86 87 83 84 85 79
2–4pm 71 78 76 79 67 76 79
4–6pm 76 80 77 73 76 78 73
6–8pm 74 80 77 72 72 74 63
8–10pm 63 – – 66 59 – 58
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at MDT was 6–8am — 90.1% of departures left on time across 4,312 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 61.1%. 6–8am departures from MDT left on time 90.1% of the time across 4,312 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.4% across 1,673. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at MDT

December was the hard month at MDT: 75.7% of departures left on time, across 1,289 flights. October was the easy one at 87.2%. 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, 81.2%.
Departure on-time share at MDT by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 80.3% 1,154
February 80.9% 1,157
March 79.5% 1,290
April 84.4% 1,527
May 82.3% 1,522
June 77.5% 1,484
July 76.3% 1,496
August 80.7% 1,374
September 84% 1,266
October 87.2% 1,484
November 85.3% 1,369
December 75.7% 1,289

Airlines at MDT

Every airline with at least 100 departures from MDT, 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
American Airlines 82.1% 111 min 2% 3,019
Allegiant Air 72.3% 94 min 1.1% 2,852
Delta Air Lines 84.7% 75 min 1.3% 2,715
SkyWest Airlines 79.5% 114 min 1.4% 2,282
PSA Airlines 85.8% 113 min 0.9% 1,398
United Airlines 87.3% 78 min 1.4% 1,338
Republic Airways 88.8% 67 min 2.8% 1,187
Envoy Air 76.3% 73 min 2.2% 905
Endeavor Air 89% 98 min 0.8% 365
Frontier Airlines 68.8% 106 min 2.3% 351

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 MDT were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,152 flights that departed MDT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40.7% put down to airline operations and 34.7% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 34.7% Airline operations 40.7% Air traffic & airport volume 16.7% Severe weather 7.9% Security 0%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 34.7%
  • Airline operations 40.7%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 16.7%
  • Severe weather 7.9%
  • Security 0%

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 MDT

Of 16,412 scheduled arrivals into MDT, 75.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,684 arrivals that ran late, 50.4% 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 MDT

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.

MDT in one number

Harrisburg (MDT)

Rank 134 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: December.

July 2023–June 2026 · 16,159 departures flown

81.2% of departures left on time

Questions about MDT

What is the best time of day to fly out of Harrisburg?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.1% of the time across 4,312 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 61.1%.
Is the early flight out of MDT really more reliable?
6–8am departures from MDT left on time 90.1% of the time across 4,312 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.4% across 1,673. 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 MDT?
December: 75.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,289 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at MDT?
Republic Airways — 88.8% of its 1,187 departures from MDT left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 68.8% over 351 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 MDT?
1.5% 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.