Best time to fly out of Abilene (ABI)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Abilene: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.4% of the time, against 75.1% 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 | 92 | – | – | 91 | 94 | – | 93 |
| 6–8am | 85 | – | 89 | 95 | 88 | 86 | 88 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 87 | 89 | 83 | 90 | 82 | 83 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 84 | 83 | 82 | 80 | 72 | – | 78 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | 73 | 79 | 75 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 72 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ABI was Before 6am — 92.4% of departures left on time across 450 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 75.1%. 6–8am departures from ABI left on time 88.3% of the time across 819 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 1,106. That is a gap of 13.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ABI
June was the hard month at ABI: 79% of departures left on time, across 552 flights. February was the easy one at 91.7%. 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 | 86.2% | 449 |
| February | 91.7% | 401 |
| March | 84.5% | 493 |
| April | 82.1% | 523 |
| May | 79.1% | 539 |
| June | 79% | 552 |
| July | 79.5% | 417 |
| August | 86.8% | 419 |
| September | 84% | 409 |
| October | 87.6% | 441 |
| November | 86.6% | 426 |
| December | 87.5% | 448 |
Airlines at ABI
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ABI, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Envoy Air | 84.3% | 71 min | 1.6% | 5,199 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 84.3% | 115 min | 0% | 318 |
What delays out of ABI were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 890 flights that departed ABI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.3%
- Airline operations 28.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 12.6%
- Severe weather 19.7%
- 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 ABI
Of 5,520 scheduled arrivals into ABI, 78.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,099 arrivals that ran late, 56.1% 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 ABI
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.
ABI in one number
Abilene (ABI)
Rank 200 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about ABI
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Abilene?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.4% of the time across 450 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 75.1%.
- Is the early flight out of ABI really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ABI left on time 88.3% of the time across 819 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 1,106. That is a gap of 13.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ABI?
- June: 79% of the departures that flew left on time, with 552 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 91.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ABI?
- Envoy Air — 84.3% of its 5,199 departures from ABI left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 84.3% over 318 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ABI?
- 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.