Best time to fly out of Wichita Falls (SPS)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Wichita Falls / Sheppard Air Force Base: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 87.9% of the time, against 79.9% 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 | 82 | 88 | 88 | 92 | 90 | 84 | 92 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 83 | 84 | 81 | 81 | 77 | 74 | 81 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SPS was 6–8am — 87.9% of departures left on time across 963 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 79.9%.
The year at SPS
June was the hard month at SPS: 76.7% of departures left on time, across 180 flights. December was the easy one at 89.7%. 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 | 79.6% | 186 |
| February | 82% | 170 |
| March | 84.1% | 186 |
| April | 82% | 176 |
| May | 84.4% | 186 |
| June | 76.7% | 180 |
| July | 81.1% | 186 |
| August | 86.6% | 186 |
| September | 88.5% | 178 |
| October | 84.1% | 184 |
| November | 86.4% | 176 |
| December | 89.7% | 185 |
Airlines at SPS
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SPS, 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 | 83.1% | 132 min | 2.5% | 1,575 |
| Envoy Air | 85.8% | 106 min | 3.5% | 604 |
What delays out of SPS were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 366 flights that departed SPS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 57.4% put down to airline operations and 20.7% to severe weather.
- Late-arriving aircraft 15.1%
- Airline operations 57.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 6.6%
- Severe weather 20.7%
- 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 SPS
Of 2,179 scheduled arrivals into SPS, 79.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 379 arrivals that ran late, 45.9% 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 SPS
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.
- DFW 82.7% on time · 2,179 flights
SPS in one number
Wichita Falls / Sheppard Air Force Base (SPS)
Rank 263 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about SPS
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Wichita Falls / Sheppard Air Force Base?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 87.9% of the time across 963 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 79.9%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SPS?
- June: 76.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 180 scheduled. December was the other end of the year at 89.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SPS?
- Envoy Air — 85.8% of its 604 departures from SPS left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 83.1% over 1,575 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SPS?
- 2.8% 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.