Best time to fly out of Albuquerque Sunport (ABQ)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Albuquerque Sunport: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 95.3% of the time, against 63.8% in the 10pm–12am 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 | 96 | 95 | 95 | 95 | 94 | 94 | 97 |
| 6–8am | 94 | 95 | 95 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 94 |
| 8–10am | 91 | 92 | 91 | 91 | 88 | 90 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 88 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 87 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 81 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 80 | 78 | 71 | 72 | 76 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 69 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 65 | 70 | 64 |
| 6–8pm | 74 | 81 | 80 | 72 | 71 | 75 | 70 |
| 8–10pm | 69 | 74 | 76 | 60 | 63 | 65 | 60 |
| 10pm–12am | – | 69 | 58 | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ABQ was Before 6am — 95.3% of departures left on time across 4,466 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from ABQ left on time 94% of the time across 14,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74% across 7,893. That is a gap of 20 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ABQ
July was the hard month at ABQ: 76.2% of departures left on time, across 6,514 flights. February was the easy one at 86.8%. 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 | 85.5% | 5,357 |
| February | 86.8% | 5,004 |
| March | 82.3% | 5,909 |
| April | 82.8% | 6,001 |
| May | 79.1% | 6,572 |
| June | 76.9% | 6,536 |
| July | 76.2% | 6,514 |
| August | 82.5% | 6,404 |
| September | 85.1% | 6,215 |
| October | 83.4% | 7,153 |
| November | 86.1% | 6,018 |
| December | 84.2% | 6,104 |
Airlines at ABQ
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ABQ, 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 | 78.9% | 52 min | 0.6% | 35,405 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 89.8% | 81 min | 0.4% | 14,023 |
| American Airlines | 80.3% | 112 min | 2.1% | 8,758 |
| United Airlines | 86.2% | 75 min | 1% | 5,753 |
| Delta Air Lines | 90.4% | 92 min | 1% | 4,172 |
| Envoy Air | 84.7% | 63 min | 1.1% | 2,620 |
| Alaska Airlines | 79.3% | 47 min | 0.6% | 1,545 |
| Spirit Airlines | 77.6% | 65 min | 1.1% | 836 |
| JetBlue Airways | 57.8% | 115 min | 2.9% | 593 |
What delays out of ABQ were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,163 flights that departed ABQ and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 43.9%
- Airline operations 32.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.3%
- Severe weather 4.7%
- 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 ABQ
Of 73,793 scheduled arrivals into ABQ, 78.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 15,182 arrivals that ran late, 59.4% 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 ABQ
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.
- PHX 82.8% on time · 9,872 flights
- DEN 82.7% on time · 8,995 flights
- DFW 78.4% on time · 7,146 flights
- LAX 88.3% on time · 6,811 flights
- LAS 80.9% on time · 5,791 flights
- DAL 83.1% on time · 5,050 flights
- SLC 93.3% on time · 3,310 flights
- ORD 80.6% on time · 2,972 flights
- ATL 89.7% on time · 2,955 flights
- HOU 85.7% on time · 2,930 flights
ABQ in one number
Albuquerque Sunport (ABQ)
Rank 58 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ABQ
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Albuquerque Sunport?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 95.3% of the time across 4,466 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 63.8%.
- Is the early flight out of ABQ really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ABQ left on time 94% of the time across 14,168 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74% across 7,893. That is a gap of 20 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ABQ?
- July: 76.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,514 scheduled. February was the other end of the year at 86.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ABQ?
- Delta Air Lines — 90.4% of its 4,172 departures from ABQ left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 57.8% over 593 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ABQ?
- 0.8% 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.