Best time to fly out of McGhee Tyson (TYS)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at McGhee Tyson: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.8% of the time, against 64.6% 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 91 91 92 93 92 91 92
6–8am 88 90 91 91 90 90 88
8–10am 89 88 90 89 91 87 90
10am–12pm 83 84 86 83 81 82 82
12–2pm 80 84 85 84 80 80 78
2–4pm 78 79 79 75 74 76 73
4–6pm 75 78 77 75 76 76 72
6–8pm 66 74 70 69 66 63 61
8–10pm 65 – – 63 70 69 57
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at TYS was Before 6am — 91.8% of departures left on time across 2,558 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 64.6%. 6–8am departures from TYS left on time 89.7% of the time across 8,892 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.7% across 4,523. That is a gap of 23 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at TYS

July was the hard month at TYS: 76% of departures left on time, across 4,146 flights. November was the easy one at 85.3%. 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, 81.3%.
Departure on-time share at TYS by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 78.9% 3,000
February 84% 2,768
March 81.3% 3,473
April 84.5% 3,419
May 78.2% 3,784
June 76.4% 4,022
July 76% 4,146
August 81.9% 3,973
September 84.2% 3,751
October 84.9% 4,317
November 85.3% 3,609
December 80% 3,504

Airlines at TYS

Every airline with at least 100 departures from TYS, 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
PSA Airlines 79.1% 99 min 2.8% 9,885
Allegiant Air 77.9% 85 min 0.9% 9,031
SkyWest Airlines 83.6% 107 min 1.5% 4,689
Delta Air Lines 87% 81 min 1.4% 4,633
American Airlines 74.2% 107 min 2.6% 4,613
Endeavor Air 89.7% 89 min 1.7% 4,146
Envoy Air 81.9% 62 min 0.9% 2,369
Republic Airways 85% 96 min 3% 1,997
United Airlines 87.6% 80 min 1.1% 1,234
Southwest Airlines 78.1% 50 min 0.2% 635
Frontier Airlines 73.8% 83 min 0.7% 534

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 TYS were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 8,495 flights that departed TYS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 35.6% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 40% Airline operations 35.6% Air traffic & airport volume 16.3% Severe weather 7.9% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 40%
  • Airline operations 35.6%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 16.3%
  • Severe weather 7.9%
  • Security 0.2%

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 TYS

Of 43,770 scheduled arrivals into TYS, 74.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 10,545 arrivals that ran late, 51% 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 TYS

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.

TYS in one number

McGhee Tyson (TYS)

Rank 85 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 42,988 departures flown

81.3% of departures left on time

Questions about TYS

What is the best time of day to fly out of McGhee Tyson?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.8% of the time across 2,558 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 64.6%.
Is the early flight out of TYS really more reliable?
6–8am departures from TYS left on time 89.7% of the time across 8,892 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.7% across 4,523. That is a gap of 23 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of TYS?
July: 76% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,146 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 85.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at TYS?
United Airlines — 87.6% of its 1,234 departures from TYS left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 73.8% over 534 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 TYS?
1.8% 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.