Best time to fly out of Peoria (PIA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.3% of the time, against 66.1% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 90 | 87 | 90 | 92 | 91 | 88 | 87 |
| 8–10am | 81 | 81 | 87 | 82 | 88 | 86 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 74 | 82 | 80 | 80 | 78 | 77 | 74 |
| 12–2pm | 80 | 87 | – | 83 | 82 | 90 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 71 | 75 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 78 | 66 |
| 4–6pm | 69 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 66 | 70 | 65 |
| 6–8pm | 69 | – | – | 77 | 71 | 75 | 72 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | – | – | – | 64 | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at PIA was 6–8am — 89.3% of departures left on time across 2,874 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 66.1%. 6–8am departures from PIA left on time 89.3% of the time across 2,874 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.8% across 738. That is a gap of 16.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at PIA
June was the hard month at PIA: 73.3% of departures left on time, across 1,296 flights. October was the easy one at 84.9%. 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 | 75.5% | 1,094 |
| February | 80.3% | 1,016 |
| March | 75.5% | 1,207 |
| April | 79.8% | 1,321 |
| May | 78.7% | 1,247 |
| June | 73.3% | 1,296 |
| July | 73.9% | 1,157 |
| August | 78.6% | 1,065 |
| September | 83.2% | 1,018 |
| October | 84.9% | 1,105 |
| November | 81.7% | 1,036 |
| December | 74.5% | 1,090 |
Airlines at PIA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from PIA, 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 | 76.1% | 104 min | 2.3% | 4,143 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.1% | 108 min | 3% | 3,508 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.8% | 103 min | 0.8% | 3,343 |
| Envoy Air | 79.4% | 68 min | 2.5% | 2,588 |
What delays out of PIA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,239 flights that departed PIA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 33.7% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 37%
- Airline operations 33.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.6%
- Severe weather 10.6%
- Security 0%
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 PIA
Of 13,654 scheduled arrivals into PIA, 74.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,156 arrivals that ran late, 51.7% 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 PIA
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.
- ORD 72.8% on time · 4,992 flights
- DFW 77.7% on time · 2,599 flights
- CLT 77.4% on time · 2,260 flights
- DEN 72.8% on time · 731 flights
- PGD 77.4% on time · 582 flights
- AZA 85.4% on time · 582 flights
- PIE 75.1% on time · 474 flights
- SFB 74.2% on time · 364 flights
- LAS 82.2% on time · 351 flights
- SRQ 86.4% on time · 300 flights
PIA in one number
General Wayne A. Downing Peoria (PIA)
Rank 147 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about PIA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of General Wayne A. Downing Peoria?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.3% of the time across 2,874 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 66.1%.
- Is the early flight out of PIA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from PIA left on time 89.3% of the time across 2,874 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.8% across 738. That is a gap of 16.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of PIA?
- June: 73.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,296 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 84.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at PIA?
- Allegiant Air — 79.8% of its 3,343 departures from PIA left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 76.1% over 4,143 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at PIA?
- 2.2% 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.