Best time to fly out of Roanoke Blacksburg (ROA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Roanoke Blacksburg: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.4% of the time, against 64.4% 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 | 92 | 90 | 93 | 89 | 88 | 86 | 89 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 78 | 86 | 76 | 74 | 76 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | 64 | – | – |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 69 | 73 | 65 | 67 | 81 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 75 | – | – | 77 | 71 | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ROA was 6–8am — 89.4% of departures left on time across 2,393 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 64.4%. 6–8am departures from ROA left on time 89.4% of the time across 2,393 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.1% across 325. That is a gap of 15.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ROA
December was the hard month at ROA: 71.1% of departures left on time, across 620 flights. September was the easy one at 86.8%. 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 | 76.1% | 526 |
| February | 82.4% | 456 |
| March | 76.5% | 501 |
| April | 78.6% | 525 |
| May | 76.1% | 508 |
| June | 71.5% | 554 |
| July | 74.3% | 632 |
| August | 80.5% | 696 |
| September | 86.8% | 658 |
| October | 84.4% | 729 |
| November | 82.6% | 663 |
| December | 71.1% | 620 |
Airlines at ROA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ROA, 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 | 78.9% | 112 min | 1.8% | 1,924 |
| Endeavor Air | 86% | 89 min | 1.6% | 1,456 |
| Republic Airways | 75.9% | 108 min | 5.3% | 1,325 |
| Delta Air Lines | 89.4% | 116 min | 1.8% | 1,167 |
| Allegiant Air | 57.5% | 98 min | 2.2% | 826 |
| PSA Airlines | 72.3% | 76 min | 1.6% | 370 |
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 ROA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,580 flights that departed ROA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46% put down to airline operations and 32.8% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.8%
- Airline operations 46%
- Air traffic & airport volume 15.4%
- Severe weather 5.8%
- 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 ROA
Of 7,069 scheduled arrivals into ROA, 75.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,516 arrivals that ran late, 54% 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 ROA
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.
- ATL 86.4% on time · 2,253 flights
- ORD 76.4% on time · 2,181 flights
- LGA 76.2% on time · 1,438 flights
- PIE 58.8% on time · 351 flights
- SFB 48.4% on time · 349 flights
- CLT 68.8% on time · 315 flights
- SRQ 79.8% on time · 126 flights
- PHL Not enough flights to say · 29 flights
- DFW Not enough flights to say · 26 flights
ROA in one number
Roanoke Blacksburg (ROA)
Rank 187 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: December.
Questions about ROA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Roanoke Blacksburg?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.4% of the time across 2,393 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 64.4%.
- Is the early flight out of ROA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ROA left on time 89.4% of the time across 2,393 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.1% across 325. That is a gap of 15.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ROA?
- December: 71.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 620 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 86.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ROA?
- Delta Air Lines — 89.4% of its 1,167 departures from ROA left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 57.5% over 826 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 ROA?
- 2.5% 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.