Best time to fly out of The Eastern Iowa (CID)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at The Eastern Iowa: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 88.2% of the time, against 70% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 84 89 91 87 86 85 86
6–8am 90 88 89 90 87 88 88
8–10am 84 87 87 86 85 85 83
10am–12pm 83 85 79 83 83 80 79
12–2pm 80 77 79 80 78 79 78
2–4pm 78 80 77 81 75 78 78
4–6pm 75 82 78 72 78 74 72
6–8pm 70 72 74 71 67 72 69
8–10pm 74 – – 64 – – 73
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at CID was 6–8am — 88.2% of departures left on time across 4,825 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 70%. 6–8am departures from CID left on time 88.2% of the time across 4,825 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.3% across 2,174. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at CID

December was the hard month at CID: 76.2% of departures left on time, across 1,928 flights. September was the easy one at 87.4%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 81.2%.
Departure on-time share at CID by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 76.3% 1,973
February 81.3% 1,896
March 80.5% 2,164
April 83% 2,009
May 79.5% 2,059
June 79.1% 2,074
July 78.1% 2,068
August 82.7% 2,042
September 87.4% 2,022
October 86.4% 2,124
November 83.1% 1,943
December 76.2% 1,928

Airlines at CID

Every airline with at least 100 departures from CID, 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 80.2% 116 min 1.9% 5,636
Envoy Air 82.9% 72 min 2.1% 4,338
American Airlines 75.7% 133 min 2.6% 3,454
United Airlines 83.2% 95 min 1.5% 3,388
Allegiant Air 80.9% 97 min 1.2% 3,033
PSA Airlines 80.6% 106 min 3.6% 1,622
Delta Air Lines 90.1% 136 min 1.4% 1,107
Republic Airways 84.4% 82 min 4.5% 914
Frontier Airlines 78.1% 78 min 1.6% 632
Endeavor Air 89.9% — 0% 178

A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.

What delays out of CID were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,991 flights that departed CID and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38% put down to airline operations and 34.2% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 34.2% Airline operations 38% Air traffic & airport volume 16.4% Severe weather 11.3% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 34.2%
  • Airline operations 38%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 16.4%
  • Severe weather 11.3%
  • 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 CID

Of 24,303 scheduled arrivals into CID, 74.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,615 arrivals that ran late, 51.4% 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 CID

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.

CID in one number

The Eastern Iowa (CID)

Rank 110 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: December.

July 2023–June 2026 · 23,799 departures flown

81.2% of departures left on time

Questions about CID

What is the best time of day to fly out of The Eastern Iowa?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 88.2% of the time across 4,825 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 70%.
Is the early flight out of CID really more reliable?
6–8am departures from CID left on time 88.2% of the time across 4,825 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.3% across 2,174. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of CID?
December: 76.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,928 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 87.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at CID?
Delta Air Lines — 90.1% of its 1,107 departures from CID left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 75.7% over 3,454 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at CID?
2.1% 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.