Best time to fly out of Ted Stevens Anchorage (ANC)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Ted Stevens Anchorage: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.1% of the time, against 71% 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 | 84 | 85 | 89 | 90 | 86 | 81 | 85 |
| 6–8am | 93 | 93 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 90 | 91 | 90 | 91 | 89 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 89 | 91 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 89 |
| 12–2pm | 83 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 84 | 82 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 79 | 77 | 79 | 77 | 79 | 79 | 78 |
| 4–6pm | 83 | 85 | 85 | 78 | 85 | 80 | 82 |
| 6–8pm | 79 | 85 | 83 | 76 | 83 | 84 | 86 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | 74 | 72 | 73 | 71 | 68 | 71 |
| 10pm–12am | 86 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 84 | 83 | 86 |
The steadiest stretch at ANC was 6–8am — 92.1% of departures left on time across 5,659 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 71%. 6–8am departures from ANC left on time 92.1% of the time across 5,659 flights; 6–8pm departures, 82.1% across 3,941. That is a gap of 10 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ANC
July was the hard month at ANC: 78.1% of departures left on time, across 6,687 flights. September was the easy one at 88%. 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 | 78.3% | 3,656 |
| February | 87.6% | 3,368 |
| March | 84.2% | 3,973 |
| April | 86.9% | 3,866 |
| May | 87.3% | 5,235 |
| June | 83.2% | 6,571 |
| July | 78.1% | 6,687 |
| August | 81.8% | 6,568 |
| September | 88% | 4,960 |
| October | 87.8% | 4,061 |
| November | 86.9% | 3,650 |
| December | 80.4% | 3,668 |
Airlines at ANC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ANC, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 85.1% | 52 min | 1.3% | 42,835 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.8% | 92 min | 0.5% | 7,617 |
| United Airlines | 80.2% | 81 min | 1.2% | 3,957 |
| American Airlines | 64% | 107 min | 0.3% | 1,598 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 37.7% | 76 min | 1.9% | 162 |
What delays out of ANC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 9,065 flights that departed ANC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 42.3% put down to airline operations and 36.4% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36.4%
- Airline operations 42.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 14.8%
- Severe weather 6.4%
- 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 ANC
Of 56,272 scheduled arrivals into ANC, 77% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,091 arrivals that ran late, 65.9% 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 ANC
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.
- SEA 84.9% on time · 21,631 flights
- JNU 86.2% on time · 3,665 flights
- FAI 88.4% on time · 2,907 flights
- ADQ 84.6% on time · 2,504 flights
- ORD 76.7% on time · 2,329 flights
- BET 81.3% on time · 2,173 flights
- MSP 83.9% on time · 2,078 flights
- PDX 89.8% on time · 2,006 flights
- DEN 85% on time · 1,925 flights
- SCC 87.7% on time · 1,571 flights
ANC in one number
Ted Stevens Anchorage (ANC)
Rank 70 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ANC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Ted Stevens Anchorage?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.1% of the time across 5,659 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 71%.
- Is the early flight out of ANC really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ANC left on time 92.1% of the time across 5,659 flights; 6–8pm departures, 82.1% across 3,941. That is a gap of 10 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ANC?
- July: 78.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,687 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ANC?
- Alaska Airlines — 85.1% of its 42,835 departures from ANC left on time. Hawaiian Airlines sat at the other end at 37.7% over 162 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ANC?
- 1.2% 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.