Best time to fly out of Eppley Airfield (OMA)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Eppley Airfield: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.8% of the time, against 60.6% 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 92 91 88 92 92 92 90
6–8am 91 92 92 92 91 93 91
8–10am 84 89 89 88 88 88 86
10am–12pm 83 85 85 85 83 84 83
12–2pm 78 83 83 81 77 82 83
2–4pm 78 80 79 78 79 82 77
4–6pm 73 75 75 67 73 76 72
6–8pm 75 75 76 68 73 71 69
8–10pm 65 56 65 57 58 65 61
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at OMA was 6–8am — 91.8% of departures left on time across 14,642 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 60.6%. 6–8am departures from OMA left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.5% across 8,007. That is a gap of 19.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at OMA

June was the hard month at OMA: 75% of departures left on time, across 6,636 flights. September was the easy one at 88%. 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, 82.1%.
Departure on-time share at OMA by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 80.7% 5,736
February 85.6% 5,351
March 81.1% 6,203
April 85.6% 5,901
May 78.2% 6,410
June 75% 6,636
July 75.5% 6,347
August 82.8% 6,052
September 88% 5,727
October 87% 6,293
November 86.3% 5,922
December 81.3% 6,028

Airlines at OMA

Every airline with at least 100 departures from OMA, 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 78.4% 52 min 0.9% 23,651
SkyWest Airlines 84.9% 90 min 0.8% 13,803
United Airlines 85% 94 min 1.3% 9,373
American Airlines 80.4% 103 min 1.7% 8,990
Delta Air Lines 87.2% 97 min 1.1% 5,594
Republic Airways 87.8% 89 min 2.2% 3,132
Envoy Air 83.2% 73 min 2.1% 2,414
Allegiant Air 77.6% 80 min 1% 1,783
Alaska Airlines 86.4% 57 min 0.6% 1,417
Frontier Airlines 71.8% 104 min 2% 1,023
Endeavor Air 89% 111 min 2.1% 862
PSA Airlines 75% 89 min 3.4% 564

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 OMA were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 13,005 flights that departed OMA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.8% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 36.3% Airline operations 34.8% Air traffic & airport volume 20.3% Severe weather 8.5% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 36.3%
  • Airline operations 34.8%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 20.3%
  • Severe weather 8.5%
  • 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 OMA

Of 72,610 scheduled arrivals into OMA, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 16,064 arrivals that ran late, 55.6% 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 OMA

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.

OMA in one number

Eppley Airfield (OMA)

Rank 59 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 71,743 departures flown

82.1% of departures left on time

Questions about OMA

What is the best time of day to fly out of Eppley Airfield?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 60.6%.
Is the early flight out of OMA really more reliable?
6–8am departures from OMA left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.5% across 8,007. That is a gap of 19.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of OMA?
June: 75% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,636 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at OMA?
Republic Airways — 87.8% of its 3,132 departures from OMA left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 71.8% over 1,023 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 OMA?
1.2% 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.