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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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 – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 81.8%.
Departure on-time share at MKE by calendar month
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

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 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.

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.

July 2023–June 2026 · 83,719 departures flown

81.8% of departures left on time

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.
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.