Best time to fly out of Santa Fe (SAF)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Santa Fe: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 85.8% of the time, against 70.6% in the 4–6pm 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 | 88 | 85 | 83 | 86 | 84 | 88 | 87 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 85 | 85 | 87 | 85 | 86 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 75 | 84 | 79 | 75 | 76 | 73 | 73 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 88 | 81 | 82 | 76 | 73 | 77 |
| 4–6pm | 65 | 72 | 73 | 69 | 70 | 77 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 78 | 83 | 83 | 78 | 74 | 85 | 77 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SAF was 6–8am — 85.8% of departures left on time across 2,207 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 70.6%. 6–8am departures from SAF left on time 85.8% of the time across 2,207 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.3% across 1,260. That is a gap of 6.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SAF
June was the hard month at SAF: 72.9% of departures left on time, across 997 flights. September was the easy one at 84.6%. 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 | 82% | 737 |
| February | 79.5% | 673 |
| March | 78.9% | 793 |
| April | 80.7% | 851 |
| May | 79.7% | 923 |
| June | 72.9% | 997 |
| July | 77.9% | 774 |
| August | 82.2% | 804 |
| September | 84.6% | 830 |
| October | 80.5% | 909 |
| November | 80.9% | 718 |
| December | 80.9% | 748 |
Airlines at SAF
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SAF, 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 | 80% | 95 min | 1.6% | 9,635 |
| Envoy Air | 73.9% | — | 1.8% | 113 |
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 SAF were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,091 flights that departed SAF and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43% put down to airline operations and 22.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 22.7%
- Airline operations 43%
- Air traffic & airport volume 15.8%
- Severe weather 18.1%
- Security 0.4%
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 SAF
Of 9,760 scheduled arrivals into SAF, 77.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,032 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 SAF
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.
SAF in one number
Santa Fe (SAF)
Rank 167 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SAF
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Santa Fe?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 85.8% of the time across 2,207 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 70.6%.
- Is the early flight out of SAF really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SAF left on time 85.8% of the time across 2,207 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.3% across 1,260. That is a gap of 6.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SAF?
- June: 72.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 997 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 84.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SAF?
- SkyWest Airlines — 80% of its 9,635 departures from SAF left on time. Envoy Air sat at the other end at 73.9% over 113 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SAF?
- 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.