Best time to fly out of Rick Husband Amarillo (AMA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Rick Husband Amarillo: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.3% of the time, against 73.2% in the 4–6pm 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 | 93 | 94 | 96 | 92 | 90 | 95 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 94 | 94 | 95 | 92 | 90 | 95 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 90 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 80 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 93 | 89 | 90 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 89 |
| 12–2pm | 86 | 86 | 83 | 85 | 82 | 86 | 85 |
| 2–4pm | 82 | 86 | 87 | 76 | 78 | 81 | 80 |
| 4–6pm | 74 | 75 | 76 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 78 | 82 | 80 | 80 | 77 | 81 | 72 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at AMA was Before 6am — 93.3% of departures left on time across 1,259 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 73.2%. 6–8am departures from AMA left on time 93.1% of the time across 2,419 flights; 6–8pm departures, 78.1% across 1,739. That is a gap of 15 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at AMA
May was the hard month at AMA: 77.2% of departures left on time, across 1,337 flights. October was the easy one at 87.9%. 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 | 86.4% | 1,181 |
| February | 87.8% | 1,143 |
| March | 84% | 1,305 |
| April | 81.9% | 1,207 |
| May | 77.2% | 1,337 |
| June | 77.2% | 1,328 |
| July | 79.8% | 1,431 |
| August | 84.2% | 1,431 |
| September | 87.4% | 1,273 |
| October | 87.9% | 1,327 |
| November | 86.5% | 1,289 |
| December | 87.4% | 1,292 |
Airlines at AMA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from AMA, 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 | 84.4% | 61 min | 0.7% | 5,883 |
| Envoy Air | 85.7% | 75 min | 2.2% | 5,800 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.7% | 117 min | 1.5% | 3,188 |
| American Airlines | 78.7% | 182 min | 2.2% | 673 |
What delays out of AMA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 2,717 flights that departed AMA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.6% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 37%
- Airline operations 32.6%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.3%
- Severe weather 10.9%
- 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 AMA
Of 15,543 scheduled arrivals into AMA, 78.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,116 arrivals that ran late, 55% 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 AMA
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.
AMA in one number
Rick Husband Amarillo (AMA)
Rank 137 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: May.
Questions about AMA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Rick Husband Amarillo?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.3% of the time across 1,259 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 73.2%.
- Is the early flight out of AMA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from AMA left on time 93.1% of the time across 2,419 flights; 6–8pm departures, 78.1% across 1,739. That is a gap of 15 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of AMA?
- May: 77.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,337 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at AMA?
- Envoy Air — 85.7% of its 5,800 departures from AMA left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 78.7% over 673 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at AMA?
- 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.