Best time to fly out of Rochester (ROC)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.4% of the time, against 70% 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 | 90 | 89 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 88 | 89 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 90 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 84 | 89 | 89 | – | 86 | 92 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 80 | 83 | 84 | 85 | 81 | 81 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 78 | 81 | 77 | 76 | 79 | 74 |
| 2–4pm | 71 | 76 | 73 | 69 | 66 | 69 | 68 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 74 | 72 | 68 | 67 | 71 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 73 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 69 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ROC was 6–8am — 90.4% of departures left on time across 8,716 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 70%. 6–8am departures from ROC left on time 90.4% of the time across 8,716 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 3,506. That is a gap of 19.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ROC
July was the hard month at ROC: 72.5% of departures left on time, across 3,122 flights. October was the easy one at 86.7%. 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 | 76.3% | 2,568 |
| February | 78.1% | 2,531 |
| March | 81.9% | 2,614 |
| April | 83.2% | 2,654 |
| May | 80% | 2,777 |
| June | 78.5% | 2,777 |
| July | 72.5% | 3,122 |
| August | 77.6% | 3,063 |
| September | 85.7% | 2,940 |
| October | 86.7% | 2,992 |
| November | 85.7% | 2,813 |
| December | 75.7% | 2,769 |
Airlines at ROC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ROC, 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 | 75.2% | 58 min | 0.7% | 6,080 |
| Endeavor Air | 86.3% | 90 min | 3.1% | 4,378 |
| Republic Airways | 86.9% | 84 min | 3% | 3,867 |
| Delta Air Lines | 77.4% | 72 min | 1.7% | 3,265 |
| PSA Airlines | 79.3% | 105 min | 3.5% | 2,949 |
| Envoy Air | 83.1% | 66 min | 1.4% | 2,554 |
| American Airlines | 80.2% | 104 min | 1.7% | 2,527 |
| United Airlines | 83.5% | 88 min | 1.3% | 2,459 |
| JetBlue Airways | 77% | 94 min | 2.9% | 2,309 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 77.6% | 102 min | 1.4% | 1,732 |
| Spirit Airlines | 74.3% | 66 min | 1.3% | 1,219 |
| Allegiant Air | 55.8% | 68 min | 1.1% | 281 |
What delays out of ROC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 6,547 flights that departed ROC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.7%
- Airline operations 31.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 24.5%
- 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 ROC
Of 33,614 scheduled arrivals into ROC, 75.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 7,615 arrivals that ran late, 53.9% 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 ROC
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 78.2% on time · 5,798 flights
- JFK 80.3% on time · 3,733 flights
- BWI 83.3% on time · 3,417 flights
- DCA 76.2% on time · 3,257 flights
- CLT 80.4% on time · 3,151 flights
- ATL 81.7% on time · 3,077 flights
- DTW 84.1% on time · 2,608 flights
- MCO 74.6% on time · 1,784 flights
- EWR 86.5% on time · 1,733 flights
- LGA 84.7% on time · 1,637 flights
ROC in one number
Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester (ROC)
Rank 96 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ROC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.4% of the time across 8,716 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 70%.
- Is the early flight out of ROC really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ROC left on time 90.4% of the time across 8,716 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.7% across 3,506. That is a gap of 19.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ROC?
- July: 72.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,122 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ROC?
- Republic Airways — 86.9% of its 3,867 departures from ROC left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 55.8% over 281 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ROC?
- 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.