Best time to fly out of Lehigh Valley (ABE)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Lehigh Valley: departures in the 8–10am band left on time 93.1% of the time, against 68.5% in the 6–8pm 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 | 91 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 90 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 94 | – | 94 | 93 | 94 | 91 | 92 |
| 10am–12pm | 86 | 84 | 90 | 83 | 83 | 86 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 83 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 83 | 86 | 81 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | – | – | 75 | 82 | 75 | 71 |
| 4–6pm | 81 | 78 | 79 | 77 | 78 | 63 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | 75 | – | – | 62 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ABE was 8–10am — 93.1% of departures left on time across 1,286 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 68.5%. 6–8am departures from ABE left on time 91.7% of the time across 3,026 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.5% across 222. That is a gap of 23.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ABE
July was the hard month at ABE: 79.2% of departures left on time, across 1,047 flights. September was the easy one at 89.1%. 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 | 81.9% | 842 |
| February | 84.6% | 812 |
| March | 84.2% | 929 |
| April | 84.5% | 811 |
| May | 81.9% | 908 |
| June | 80.3% | 1,034 |
| July | 79.2% | 1,047 |
| August | 81.6% | 1,038 |
| September | 89.1% | 940 |
| October | 88.7% | 1,052 |
| November | 87.8% | 948 |
| December | 81.4% | 1,011 |
Airlines at ABE
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ABE, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | 84% | 93 min | 1% | 5,773 |
| PSA Airlines | 84.3% | 115 min | 2.1% | 3,029 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.1% | 94 min | 1.1% | 1,506 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 76.3% | 160 min | 2.7% | 986 |
What delays out of ABE were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,878 flights that departed ABE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.8% put down to airline operations and 34.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 34.7%
- Airline operations 39.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 15.9%
- Severe weather 9.5%
- 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 ABE
Of 11,371 scheduled arrivals into ABE, 77.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 2,390 arrivals that ran late, 50.3% 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 ABE
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.
- CLT 85.2% on time · 3,030 flights
- SFB 82% on time · 1,953 flights
- ATL 86.4% on time · 1,530 flights
- ORD 74.7% on time · 1,039 flights
- PIE 84.1% on time · 829 flights
- PGD 82.6% on time · 704 flights
- MYR 88.8% on time · 622 flights
- SRQ 82.8% on time · 320 flights
- FLL 71.9% on time · 309 flights
- MLB 91.9% on time · 274 flights
ABE in one number
Lehigh Valley (ABE)
Rank 163 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 8–10am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ABE
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Lehigh Valley?
- 8–10am. Departures in that band left on time 93.1% of the time across 1,286 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 68.5%.
- Is the early flight out of ABE really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ABE left on time 91.7% of the time across 3,026 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.5% across 222. That is a gap of 23.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ABE?
- July: 79.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,047 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 89.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ABE?
- Endeavor Air — 87.1% of its 1,506 departures from ABE left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 76.3% over 986 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ABE?
- 1.5% 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.