Best time to fly out of Philadelphia (PHL)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Philadelphia: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 90.3% of the time, against 67.1% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 89 92 92 92 90 89 89
6–8am 87 90 92 91 89 87 87
8–10am 85 88 90 87 87 85 86
10am–12pm 81 86 88 84 83 84 83
12–2pm 76 82 84 79 75 76 75
2–4pm 75 79 80 73 73 74 74
4–6pm 68 75 76 69 69 70 66
6–8pm 66 74 71 64 66 67 63
8–10pm 68 74 73 67 67 67 65
10pm–12am 66 75 70 64 66 72 61
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at PHL was Before 6am — 90.3% of departures left on time across 8,227 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 67.1%. 6–8am departures from PHL left on time 88.9% of the time across 30,047 flights; 6–8pm departures, 67.1% across 53,337. That is a gap of 21.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at PHL

July was the hard month at PHL: 67% of departures left on time, across 27,290 flights. November was the easy one at 84.1%. 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, 77.8%.
Departure on-time share at PHL by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79.2% 20,680
February 82.4% 19,603
March 79.2% 22,921
April 80.7% 25,188
May 77.3% 26,857
June 72.6% 27,780
July 67% 27,290
August 72.2% 27,739
September 81.8% 25,579
October 83.4% 27,118
November 84.1% 22,435
December 76.7% 21,979

Airlines at PHL

Every airline with at least 100 departures from PHL, 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
American Airlines 76.9% 82 min 1.8% 135,282
PSA Airlines 78.5% 92 min 3.3% 40,415
Frontier Airlines 71.6% 88 min 2.6% 31,732
Republic Airways 87.6% 75 min 2.2% 23,553
Delta Air Lines 83.6% 84 min 1.3% 18,567
Southwest Airlines 72.8% 55 min 0.8% 14,970
United Airlines 85.3% 90 min 1% 12,402
Spirit Airlines 72.9% 68 min 2.2% 12,110
JetBlue Airways 77.7% 76 min 2% 3,610
Alaska Airlines 76.2% 52 min 1.3% 1,956
SkyWest Airlines 74.5% 130 min 1.1% 372
Endeavor Air 85.4% — 0% 164

A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.

What delays out of PHL were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 67,601 flights that departed PHL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.2% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 43.7% Airline operations 30.2% Air traffic & airport volume 21.1% Severe weather 4.9% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 43.7%
  • Airline operations 30.2%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 21.1%
  • Severe weather 4.9%
  • 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 PHL

Of 295,133 scheduled arrivals into PHL, 75.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 66,571 arrivals that ran late, 50.6% 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 PHL

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.

PHL in one number

Philadelphia (PHL)

Rank 23 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 289,144 departures flown

77.8% of departures left on time

Questions about PHL

What is the best time of day to fly out of Philadelphia?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 90.3% of the time across 8,227 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 67.1%.
Is the early flight out of PHL really more reliable?
6–8am departures from PHL left on time 88.9% of the time across 30,047 flights; 6–8pm departures, 67.1% across 53,337. That is a gap of 21.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of PHL?
July: 67% of the departures that flew left on time, with 27,290 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 84.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at PHL?
Republic Airways — 87.6% of its 23,553 departures from PHL left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 71.6% over 31,732 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at PHL?
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.