Best time to fly out of General Mitchell (MKE)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at General Mitchell: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.2% of the time, against 66.7% 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 | 93 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 94 | 93 |
| 6–8am | 89 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 89 | 89 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 85 | 89 | 90 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 77 | 82 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 83 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 77 | 81 | 80 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 76 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 76 | 75 | 69 | 72 | 76 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 74 | 71 | 65 | 69 | 66 | 67 |
| 8–10pm | 75 | – | – | 63 | 67 | 69 | 62 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MKE was Before 6am — 94.2% of departures left on time across 5,617 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 66.7%. 6–8am departures from MKE left on time 89.8% of the time across 18,034 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 7,904. That is a gap of 20.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MKE
July was the hard month at MKE: 76.6% of departures left on time, across 7,493 flights. September was the easy one at 85.9%. 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 | 79.8% | 6,167 |
| February | 84.7% | 5,948 |
| March | 79.3% | 7,547 |
| April | 84.3% | 7,273 |
| May | 80.8% | 7,500 |
| June | 79.1% | 7,582 |
| July | 76.6% | 7,493 |
| August | 80.9% | 7,429 |
| September | 85.9% | 7,028 |
| October | 85.8% | 7,619 |
| November | 85.7% | 6,725 |
| December | 79.5% | 6,799 |
Airlines at MKE
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MKE, 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 | 82% | 55 min | 0.9% | 29,156 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.8% | 95 min | 2% | 17,176 |
| Delta Air Lines | 87.5% | 90 min | 1.1% | 12,416 |
| American Airlines | 76.8% | 113 min | 1.8% | 7,658 |
| Republic Airways | 83.7% | 81 min | 4% | 6,102 |
| PSA Airlines | 80.4% | 122 min | 4.1% | 3,049 |
| United Airlines | 80.1% | 69 min | 0.7% | 2,251 |
| Spirit Airlines | 85.9% | 86 min | 2% | 1,712 |
| Alaska Airlines | 85.4% | 41 min | 0.6% | 1,401 |
| Frontier Airlines | 75% | 90 min | 2% | 1,401 |
| Endeavor Air | 84.9% | 122 min | 2.5% | 1,238 |
| JetBlue Airways | 72.3% | 90 min | 0.9% | 1,138 |
| Envoy Air | 82.4% | 66 min | 3.6% | 412 |
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 MKE were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 15,977 flights that departed MKE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40.2% put down to airline operations and 33.2% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 33.2%
- Airline operations 40.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.4%
- Severe weather 6.1%
- 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 MKE
Of 85,113 scheduled arrivals into MKE, 75.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 19,357 arrivals that ran late, 53.7% 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 MKE
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.
- ORD 72.5% on time · 10,637 flights
- DEN 81.9% on time · 7,755 flights
- ATL 87.8% on time · 7,179 flights
- MCO 80.4% on time · 4,666 flights
- MSP 84.1% on time · 4,465 flights
- DTW 83% on time · 4,345 flights
- PHX 81.9% on time · 4,314 flights
- DCA 78.7% on time · 3,873 flights
- LAS 82.9% on time · 3,732 flights
- DFW 72.8% on time · 3,447 flights
MKE in one number
General Mitchell (MKE)
Rank 54 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MKE
- What is the best time of day to fly out of General Mitchell?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.2% of the time across 5,617 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 66.7%.
- Is the early flight out of MKE really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MKE left on time 89.8% of the time across 18,034 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 7,904. That is a gap of 20.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MKE?
- July: 76.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 7,493 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 85.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MKE?
- Delta Air Lines — 87.5% of its 12,416 departures from MKE left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 72.3% over 1,138 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 MKE?
- 1.6% 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.