Best time to fly out of Minneapolis (MSP)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Minneapolis Saint Paul / Wold Chamberlain: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.7% of the time, against 74% 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 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 96 | 92 | 93 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 90 | 91 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 87 | 88 | 86 | 84 | 86 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 82 | 86 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 85 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 81 | 80 | 77 | 77 | 80 | 78 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 78 | 73 | 70 | 73 | 79 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 75 | 79 | 78 | 72 | 73 | 78 | 73 |
| 8–10pm | 76 | 83 | 81 | 75 | 75 | 82 | 76 |
| 10pm–12am | 74 | 82 | 80 | 71 | 70 | 80 | 76 |
The steadiest stretch at MSP was Before 6am — 93.7% of departures left on time across 6,076 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 74%. 6–8am departures from MSP left on time 91.3% of the time across 41,731 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.3% across 51,110. That is a gap of 16 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MSP
July was the hard month at MSP: 74.4% of departures left on time, across 33,489 flights. October was the easy one at 88.4%. 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 | 80.4% | 25,976 |
| February | 84.6% | 24,496 |
| March | 81.9% | 29,314 |
| April | 85.4% | 29,067 |
| May | 82.5% | 31,146 |
| June | 76.1% | 32,174 |
| July | 74.4% | 33,489 |
| August | 80.4% | 33,312 |
| September | 87% | 30,472 |
| October | 88.4% | 31,357 |
| November | 88.1% | 28,759 |
| December | 80% | 29,229 |
Airlines at MSP
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MSP, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 82.3% | 65 min | 0.8% | 201,837 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 83.6% | 86 min | 0.9% | 76,362 |
| Southwest Airlines | 79% | 52 min | 0.8% | 20,107 |
| United Airlines | 82.6% | 86 min | 1.1% | 15,623 |
| American Airlines | 80.8% | 99 min | 1.7% | 13,449 |
| Endeavor Air | 86.8% | 72 min | 0.6% | 11,393 |
| Republic Airways | 85% | 82 min | 3.6% | 4,096 |
| Frontier Airlines | 75.7% | 86 min | 1.5% | 3,776 |
| Alaska Airlines | 82.2% | 52 min | 1.1% | 3,210 |
| Envoy Air | 79.5% | 65 min | 1.9% | 2,798 |
| PSA Airlines | 76.9% | 118 min | 5% | 2,502 |
| Spirit Airlines | 78.4% | 69 min | 0.9% | 2,471 |
| Allegiant Air | 80.7% | 85 min | 0.3% | 607 |
| JetBlue Airways | 63.1% | 116 min | 1.8% | 560 |
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 MSP were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 66,525 flights that departed MSP and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 49.9% put down to airline operations and 21.3% to air traffic & airport volume.
- Late-arriving aircraft 20.1%
- Airline operations 49.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 21.3%
- Severe weather 8.6%
- 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 MSP
Of 358,825 scheduled arrivals into MSP, 81.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 61,900 arrivals that ran late, 52.3% 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 MSP
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.
- DEN 79.6% on time · 18,232 flights
- ORD 75.5% on time · 17,742 flights
- ATL 83.2% on time · 10,845 flights
- PHX 82.3% on time · 9,696 flights
- DFW 78.1% on time · 9,664 flights
- MDW 81.7% on time · 8,478 flights
- SEA 84.2% on time · 8,053 flights
- LAS 83.3% on time · 7,621 flights
- CLT 80.8% on time · 7,532 flights
- DCA 77.6% on time · 7,258 flights
MSP in one number
Minneapolis Saint Paul / Wold Chamberlain (MSP)
Rank 17 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MSP
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Minneapolis Saint Paul / Wold Chamberlain?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.7% of the time across 6,076 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 74%.
- Is the early flight out of MSP really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MSP left on time 91.3% of the time across 41,731 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.3% across 51,110. That is a gap of 16 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MSP?
- July: 74.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 33,489 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 88.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MSP?
- Republic Airways — 85% of its 4,096 departures from MSP left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 63.1% over 560 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 MSP?
- 0.9% 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.