Best time to fly out of Meadows (BFL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Meadows: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 92.7% of the time, against 79.8% 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 | 91 | 90 | 89 | 91 | 90 | 91 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 95 | 94 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 93 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 79 | 81 | 81 | 80 | 86 | 76 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | 80 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at BFL was 6–8am — 92.7% of departures left on time across 2,288 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 79.8%. 6–8am departures from BFL left on time 92.7% of the time across 2,288 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.8% across 104. That is a gap of 12.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at BFL
January was the hard month at BFL: 81.8% of departures left on time, across 684 flights. August was the easy one at 89.4%. 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 | 81.8% | 684 |
| February | 85.1% | 614 |
| March | 86.4% | 699 |
| April | 83.8% | 686 |
| May | 87% | 708 |
| June | 84.2% | 718 |
| July | 84.6% | 750 |
| August | 89.4% | 738 |
| September | 89.1% | 666 |
| October | 89.2% | 766 |
| November | 87.3% | 752 |
| December | 86.5% | 738 |
Airlines at BFL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from BFL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 86.8% | 94 min | 0.6% | 5,412 |
| American Airlines | 83.2% | 109 min | 1.5% | 2,313 |
| Envoy Air | 92.3% | 70 min | 0.1% | 754 |
What delays out of BFL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,284 flights that departed BFL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.9% put down to airline operations and 35.4% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 35.4%
- Airline operations 41.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13.8%
- Severe weather 8.9%
- 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 BFL
Of 8,520 scheduled arrivals into BFL, 77.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,785 arrivals that ran late, 51.2% 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 BFL
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.
BFL in one number
Meadows (BFL)
Rank 175 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about BFL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Meadows?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 92.7% of the time across 2,288 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 79.8%.
- Is the early flight out of BFL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from BFL left on time 92.7% of the time across 2,288 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.8% across 104. That is a gap of 12.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of BFL?
- January: 81.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 684 scheduled. August was the other end of the year at 89.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at BFL?
- Envoy Air — 92.3% of its 754 departures from BFL left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 83.2% over 2,313 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at BFL?
- 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.