Best time to fly out of Pittsburgh (PIT)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Pittsburgh: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94% of the time, against 63.4% 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 93 94 96 95 94 91 94
6–8am 93 94 94 94 93 93 92
8–10am 91 91 94 92 90 91 91
10am–12pm 86 90 91 89 86 86 87
12–2pm 83 88 86 83 82 82 82
2–4pm 75 83 83 77 75 77 73
4–6pm 74 79 77 72 73 75 72
6–8pm 69 78 74 69 69 68 66
8–10pm 66 71 65 60 63 65 59
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at PIT was Before 6am — 94% of departures left on time across 5,329 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 63.4%. 6–8am departures from PIT left on time 93.3% of the time across 30,139 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.3% across 15,604. That is a gap of 23 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at PIT

July was the hard month at PIT: 76.5% of departures left on time, across 11,684 flights. November 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, 83.5%.
Departure on-time share at PIT by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 84.2% 9,420
February 85.9% 9,007
March 82.5% 10,615
April 85.7% 10,740
May 82.2% 11,360
June 78.7% 11,577
July 76.5% 11,684
August 81.8% 11,568
September 87.3% 10,868
October 87.7% 11,526
November 88% 10,398
December 82.1% 10,238

Airlines at PIT

Every airline with at least 100 departures from PIT, 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
Republic Airways 89.9% 69 min 2.2% 31,556
Southwest Airlines 80% 55 min 0.7% 30,794
American Airlines 81.9% 102 min 1.4% 18,173
United Airlines 85.9% 81 min 0.9% 10,149
Delta Air Lines 87.5% 74 min 1.3% 9,733
Spirit Airlines 74.6% 76 min 2.5% 7,357
Allegiant Air 81.4% 88 min 1.1% 4,516
JetBlue Airways 80.5% 84 min 2.5% 4,015
SkyWest Airlines 80.8% 103 min 1.2% 3,596
Endeavor Air 85.6% 122 min 3% 2,411
PSA Airlines 76.7% 95 min 4.4% 2,333
Envoy Air 81.7% 60 min 1.5% 1,870
Alaska Airlines 79% 52 min 1.6% 1,414
Frontier Airlines 72.5% 88 min 3% 1,084

What delays out of PIT were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 22,554 flights that departed PIT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29.1% to air traffic & airport volume.

Late-arriving aircraft 37.6% Airline operations 28.4% Air traffic & airport volume 29.1% Severe weather 4.7% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 37.6%
  • Airline operations 28.4%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 29.1%
  • Severe weather 4.7%
  • 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 PIT

Of 128,995 scheduled arrivals into PIT, 77.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 27,242 arrivals that ran late, 53.2% 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 PIT

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.

PIT in one number

Pittsburgh (PIT)

Rank 44 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 126,980 departures flown

83.5% of departures left on time

Questions about PIT

What is the best time of day to fly out of Pittsburgh?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94% of the time across 5,329 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 63.4%.
Is the early flight out of PIT really more reliable?
6–8am departures from PIT left on time 93.3% of the time across 30,139 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.3% across 15,604. That is a gap of 23 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of PIT?
July: 76.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 11,684 scheduled. November 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 PIT?
Republic Airways — 89.9% of its 31,556 departures from PIT left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 72.5% over 1,084 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at PIT?
1.6% 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.