Best time to fly out of Quad City (MLI)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Quad City: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.6% of the time, against 71.9% in the 6–8pm 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 89 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 92 | 88 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 82 | 83 | 83 | 84 | 82 | 86 | 80 |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 87 | 83 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | 86 | – | – | 87 |
| 2–4pm | 74 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 79 | 77 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 82 | 73 | 75 | 72 | 77 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 71 | – | – | – | 72 | – | 72 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MLI was 6–8am — 90.6% of departures left on time across 2,977 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 71.9%. 6–8am departures from MLI left on time 90.6% of the time across 2,977 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.9% across 348. That is a gap of 18.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MLI
July was the hard month at MLI: 76.8% of departures left on time, across 1,002 flights. October was the easy one at 89.7%. 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 | 77.8% | 913 |
| February | 82.6% | 872 |
| March | 79.4% | 1,082 |
| April | 81.9% | 1,086 |
| May | 80.3% | 1,194 |
| June | 80.4% | 1,027 |
| July | 76.8% | 1,002 |
| August | 81.3% | 975 |
| September | 88.3% | 887 |
| October | 89.7% | 1,037 |
| November | 84.8% | 1,050 |
| December | 80.4% | 1,014 |
Airlines at MLI
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MLI, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.1% | 111 min | 2.8% | 5,091 |
| Envoy Air | 84% | 74 min | 2.1% | 2,846 |
| PSA Airlines | 81.3% | 120 min | 3.1% | 1,637 |
| Allegiant Air | 81.1% | 89 min | 0.7% | 1,438 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.1% | 90 min | 1.6% | 1,094 |
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 MLI were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,486 flights that departed MLI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 35.9% put down to airline operations and 35.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 35.3%
- Airline operations 35.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 17.9%
- Severe weather 10.8%
- 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 MLI
Of 12,140 scheduled arrivals into MLI, 74.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,802 arrivals that ran late, 53% 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 MLI
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 74.5% on time · 4,678 flights
- DFW 82.7% on time · 2,509 flights
- CLT 79.7% on time · 1,318 flights
- DEN 82% on time · 1,099 flights
- ATL 85.6% on time · 1,097 flights
- LAS 83.7% on time · 313 flights
- PGD 78.6% on time · 283 flights
- SFB 77.1% on time · 278 flights
- AZA 78.6% on time · 269 flights
- PIE 76.5% on time · 253 flights
MLI in one number
Quad City (MLI)
Rank 156 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MLI
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Quad City?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.6% of the time across 2,977 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 71.9%.
- Is the early flight out of MLI really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MLI left on time 90.6% of the time across 2,977 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.9% across 348. That is a gap of 18.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MLI?
- July: 76.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,002 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 89.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MLI?
- Envoy Air — 84% of its 2,846 departures from MLI left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 80.1% over 5,091 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 MLI?
- 2.3% 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.