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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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 – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 83.7%.
Departure on-time share at TUL by calendar month
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

Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

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 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.

TUL in one number

Tulsa (TUL)

Rank 74 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 52,102 departures flown

83.7% of departures left on time

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. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
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.