Best time to fly out of Friedman Memorial (SUN)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Friedman Memorial: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 95.3% of the time, against 79.1% in the 8–10am 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
6–8am 95 96 95 96 94 96 95
8–10am 83 76
10am–12pm
12–2pm 90 90 85 86 82 84 82
2–4pm 84 86 87 82 86 88 83
4–6pm
6–8pm
8–10pm
10pm–12am
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at SUN was 6–8am — 95.3% of departures left on time across 1,817 flights. The weakest was 8–10am at 79.1%.

The year at SUN

February was the hard month at SUN: 82.7% of departures left on time, across 778 flights. November was the easy one at 98%. 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, 87.2%.
Departure on-time share at SUN by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 83.1% 872
February 82.7% 778
March 85.2% 857
April 91% 378
May 89.9% 387
June 86.4% 560
July 87.6% 635
August 86.8% 607
September 93.6% 436
October 94.6% 388
November 98% 294
December 83.3% 642

Airlines at SUN

Every airline with at least 100 departures from SUN, 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 87.2% 123 min 1% 6,834

What delays out of SUN were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 972 flights that departed SUN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 45.4% put down to airline operations and 20.9% to severe weather.

Late-arriving aircraft 14.1% Airline operations 45.4% Air traffic & airport volume 19.6% Severe weather 20.9% Security 0%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 14.1%
  • Airline operations 45.4%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 19.6%
  • Severe weather 20.9%
  • 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 SUN

Of 6,836 scheduled arrivals into SUN, 85.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 867 arrivals that ran late, 51.6% 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 SUN

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.

SUN in one number

Friedman Memorial (SUN)

Rank 190 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: February.

July 2023–June 2026 · 6,763 departures flown

87.2% of departures left on time

Questions about SUN

What is the best time of day to fly out of Friedman Memorial?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 95.3% of the time across 1,817 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10am band was the weakest at 79.1%.
What is the worst month to fly out of SUN?
February: 82.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 778 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 98%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
How often are flights cancelled at SUN?
1% 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.