Best time to fly out of Montrose (MTJ)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Montrose: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 87.9% of the time, against 70.1% in the 2–4pm 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 | 88 | 89 | 89 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 84 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | – | – | 82 | 76 | 82 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 82 | 87 | 80 | 83 | 79 | 79 | 78 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 72 | 70 | 74 | 67 | 67 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MTJ was 6–8am — 87.9% of departures left on time across 1,154 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 70.1%.
The year at MTJ
July was the hard month at MTJ: 69.9% of departures left on time, across 667 flights. November was the easy one at 87.3%. 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 | 78.6% | 947 |
| February | 75.1% | 910 |
| March | 77.8% | 1,108 |
| April | 86.9% | 437 |
| May | 76.7% | 426 |
| June | 71.4% | 620 |
| July | 69.9% | 667 |
| August | 78.9% | 650 |
| September | 82.4% | 550 |
| October | 85.2% | 407 |
| November | 87.3% | 356 |
| December | 77.3% | 744 |
Airlines at MTJ
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MTJ, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 78.5% | 86 min | 1% | 2,367 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.3% | 99 min | 1.5% | 1,855 |
| Southwest Airlines | 74.1% | 57 min | 0.1% | 1,597 |
| American Airlines | 76.6% | 151 min | 1.2% | 1,387 |
| Envoy Air | 79.4% | 62 min | 2.5% | 314 |
| Delta Air Lines | 80.7% | 59 min | 2% | 302 |
What delays out of MTJ were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,665 flights that departed MTJ and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.3%
- Airline operations 31.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 21.7%
- Severe weather 3.6%
- 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 MTJ
Of 7,823 scheduled arrivals into MTJ, 77% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,728 arrivals that ran late, 55.8% 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 MTJ
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% on time · 4,307 flights
- DFW 77.1% on time · 1,713 flights
- ORD 80.8% on time · 536 flights
- ATL 86.1% on time · 302 flights
- EWR 69% on time · 248 flights
- IAH 71.6% on time · 216 flights
- DAL 75.2% on time · 204 flights
- LAX 82.9% on time · 152 flights
- SFO 77% on time · 127 flights
- AUS Not enough flights to say · 13 flights
MTJ in one number
Montrose (MTJ)
Rank 178 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MTJ
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Montrose?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 87.9% of the time across 1,154 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 70.1%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MTJ?
- July: 69.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 667 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 87.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MTJ?
- SkyWest Airlines — 81.3% of its 1,855 departures from MTJ left on time. Southwest Airlines sat at the other end at 74.1% over 1,597 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MTJ?
- 1.1% 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.