Best time to fly out of Tulsa (TUL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Tulsa: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.5% of the time, against 67% in the 8–10pm 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 | 93 | 93 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 91 | 93 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 93 | 93 | 94 | 90 | 91 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 90 | 89 | 91 | 88 | 88 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 86 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 86 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 84 | 85 | 82 | 80 | 82 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 81 | 84 | 83 | 81 | 79 | 82 | 79 |
| 4–6pm | 76 | 81 | 79 | 75 | 74 | 78 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 73 | 80 | 75 | 71 | 73 | 76 | 70 |
| 8–10pm | 64 | – | 75 | 68 | 67 | 77 | 63 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at TUL was Before 6am — 93.5% of departures left on time across 3,485 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 67%. 6–8am departures from TUL left on time 91.7% of the time across 10,906 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.7% across 5,766. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at TUL
June was the hard month at TUL: 76.7% of departures left on time, across 4,837 flights. November was the easy one at 87.9%. 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 | 85.4% | 3,836 |
| February | 87.1% | 3,640 |
| March | 83.1% | 4,321 |
| April | 83.1% | 4,366 |
| May | 78.4% | 4,696 |
| June | 76.7% | 4,837 |
| July | 79.2% | 4,852 |
| August | 85.6% | 4,587 |
| September | 87.8% | 4,451 |
| October | 87.3% | 4,719 |
| November | 87.9% | 4,250 |
| December | 84.9% | 4,292 |
Airlines at TUL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from TUL, 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 | 83.5% | 54 min | 0.7% | 16,740 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 86.1% | 101 min | 0.8% | 11,629 |
| American Airlines | 80.1% | 116 min | 2.4% | 6,927 |
| Envoy Air | 84.9% | 68 min | 1.8% | 5,203 |
| Delta Air Lines | 85.5% | 92 min | 1.6% | 4,365 |
| Republic Airways | 85.8% | 86 min | 2.7% | 2,336 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.4% | 107 min | 5% | 2,287 |
| United Airlines | 90.1% | 77 min | 1% | 1,738 |
| Allegiant Air | 73.7% | 96 min | 0.4% | 1,150 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.9% | 42 min | 0% | 426 |
What delays out of TUL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 8,943 flights that departed TUL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.5%
- Airline operations 32.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.1%
- Severe weather 9.7%
- 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 TUL
Of 52,852 scheduled arrivals into TUL, 76.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 11,488 arrivals that ran late, 54.8% 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 TUL
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 77.8% on time · 9,054 flights
- DEN 81% on time · 6,599 flights
- ORD 80.8% on time · 5,332 flights
- ATL 87.7% on time · 4,679 flights
- PHX 83.7% on time · 3,423 flights
- DAL 85.7% on time · 3,352 flights
- IAH 84.4% on time · 2,283 flights
- CLT 82.6% on time · 2,267 flights
- LAS 83.7% on time · 2,183 flights
- HOU 84.6% on time · 2,026 flights
TUL in one number
Tulsa (TUL)
Rank 74 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about TUL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Tulsa?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.5% of the time across 3,485 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 67%.
- Is the early flight out of TUL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from TUL left on time 91.7% of the time across 10,906 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.7% across 5,766. That is a gap of 18 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of TUL?
- June: 76.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,837 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 87.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at TUL?
- United Airlines — 90.1% of its 1,738 departures from TUL left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 73.7% over 1,150 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at TUL?
- 1.4% 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.