Best time to fly out of Valparaiso (VPS)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Destin-Fort Walton Beach: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.4% of the time, against 62.3% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 91 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 88 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 89 | 95 | 86 | 90 | 88 | 86 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 85 | 86 | 79 | 81 | 80 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 85 | 85 | 82 | 81 | 75 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 79 | 82 | 82 | 76 | 72 | 71 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 78 | 83 | 74 | 72 | 69 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 74 | 72 | 75 | 72 | 70 | 66 | 66 |
| 8–10pm | 70 | – | – | – | 60 | 63 | 54 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at VPS was 6–8am — 90.4% of departures left on time across 6,536 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 62.3%. 6–8am departures from VPS left on time 90.4% of the time across 6,536 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.5% across 3,682. That is a gap of 19.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at VPS
June was the hard month at VPS: 73% of departures left on time, across 3,712 flights. November was the easy one at 88.5%. 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 | 82.5% | 1,750 |
| February | 86.4% | 1,744 |
| March | 81.4% | 2,578 |
| April | 80.5% | 2,663 |
| May | 75.4% | 3,095 |
| June | 73% | 3,712 |
| July | 74.2% | 3,550 |
| August | 78.7% | 2,940 |
| September | 86.9% | 2,320 |
| October | 88.3% | 2,590 |
| November | 88.5% | 1,969 |
| December | 83.1% | 1,896 |
Airlines at VPS
Every airline with at least 100 departures from VPS, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 83.7% | 80 min | 1.4% | 7,625 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.9% | 90 min | 0.8% | 7,559 |
| American Airlines | 74.9% | 114 min | 1.6% | 5,949 |
| Southwest Airlines | 83.6% | 61 min | 0.5% | 5,835 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.8% | 115 min | 4.4% | 2,012 |
| Envoy Air | 79% | 77 min | 2% | 1,475 |
| JetBlue Airways | 75% | 56 min | 0% | 176 |
| Republic Airways | 92.5% | — | 2.6% | 151 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
What delays out of VPS were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,907 flights that departed VPS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 35.2% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.5%
- Airline operations 35.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 12.5%
- Severe weather 8.7%
- 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 VPS
Of 30,810 scheduled arrivals into VPS, 77.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 6,572 arrivals that ran late, 52.7% 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 VPS
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.
- ATL 85.7% on time · 6,786 flights
- DFW 74% on time · 4,130 flights
- CLT 78.5% on time · 3,480 flights
- BNA 90.8% on time · 2,630 flights
- DAL 82% on time · 1,248 flights
- CVG 74.7% on time · 1,244 flights
- DCA 74.3% on time · 1,202 flights
- BLV 79.5% on time · 1,105 flights
- MSP 80.6% on time · 950 flights
- HOU 79.9% on time · 856 flights
VPS in one number
Destin-Fort Walton Beach (VPS)
Rank 102 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about VPS
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Destin-Fort Walton Beach?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.4% of the time across 6,536 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 62.3%.
- Is the early flight out of VPS really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from VPS left on time 90.4% of the time across 6,536 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.5% across 3,682. That is a gap of 19.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of VPS?
- June: 73% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,712 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 88.5%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at VPS?
- Republic Airways — 92.5% of its 151 departures from VPS left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 74.9% over 5,949 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at VPS?
- 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.