Best time to fly out of Minot (MOT)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Minot: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 89.6% of the time, against 76.6% in the 4–6pm 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 | 89 | 87 | 91 | 92 | 92 | – | 87 |
| 6–8am | 85 | 85 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 87 | 87 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 84 | 88 | 84 | 86 | 85 | 85 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 81 | 83 | 83 | 78 | 78 | 76 | 76 |
| 4–6pm | 74 | 77 | 76 | 77 | 78 | – | 78 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MOT was Before 6am — 89.6% of departures left on time across 661 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 76.6%.
The year at MOT
December was the hard month at MOT: 74.2% of departures left on time, across 663 flights. October was the easy one at 89.6%. 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 | 78.1% | 563 |
| February | 81.8% | 556 |
| March | 84.2% | 629 |
| April | 86% | 592 |
| May | 83.7% | 670 |
| June | 78.2% | 713 |
| July | 83.6% | 702 |
| August | 81.5% | 663 |
| September | 88% | 619 |
| October | 89.6% | 630 |
| November | 84% | 608 |
| December | 74.2% | 663 |
Airlines at MOT
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MOT, 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 | 83.4% | 113 min | 1.4% | 6,683 |
| Allegiant Air | 77.5% | 84 min | 0.4% | 925 |
What delays out of MOT were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,472 flights that departed MOT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 49.1% put down to airline operations and 21.7% to severe weather.
- Late-arriving aircraft 13.6%
- Airline operations 49.1%
- Air traffic & airport volume 15.5%
- Severe weather 21.7%
- 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 MOT
Of 7,608 scheduled arrivals into MOT, 80.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,354 arrivals that ran late, 52.8% 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 MOT
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.
MOT in one number
Minot (MOT)
Rank 179 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: December.
Questions about MOT
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Minot?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 89.6% of the time across 661 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 76.6%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MOT?
- December: 74.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 663 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 89.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MOT?
- SkyWest Airlines — 83.4% of its 6,683 departures from MOT left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 77.5% over 925 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MOT?
- 1.3% 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.