Best time to fly out of Colorado Springs (COS)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at City of Colorado Springs: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.5% of the time, against 65.3% 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 | 95 | 93 | 94 | 96 | 96 | 93 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 91 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 84 | 83 | 82 | 82 | 85 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 80 | 79 | 81 | 77 | 81 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 69 | 71 | 73 | 70 | 70 | 76 | 72 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 72 | 73 | 66 | 66 | 76 | 66 |
| 6–8pm | 68 | 74 | 66 | 65 | 61 | 67 | 60 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | 66 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at COS was Before 6am — 94.5% of departures left on time across 1,697 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 65.3%. 6–8am departures from COS left on time 90.7% of the time across 9,084 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.3% across 2,502. That is a gap of 25.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at COS
July was the hard month at COS: 74.3% of departures left on time, across 3,544 flights. September was the easy one at 85.7%. 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 | 81.3% | 2,854 |
| February | 83.5% | 2,637 |
| March | 83.7% | 3,068 |
| April | 81.9% | 3,035 |
| May | 78.3% | 3,289 |
| June | 76.3% | 3,502 |
| July | 74.3% | 3,544 |
| August | 79.4% | 3,461 |
| September | 85.7% | 3,276 |
| October | 84.9% | 3,410 |
| November | 85.7% | 3,153 |
| December | 80.9% | 3,182 |
Airlines at COS
Every airline with at least 100 departures from COS, 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 | 82.9% | 96 min | 1.4% | 15,551 |
| Southwest Airlines | 79.8% | 57 min | 0.5% | 14,434 |
| American Airlines | 77.5% | 114 min | 2.9% | 3,266 |
| United Airlines | 80.2% | 87 min | 1.4% | 2,328 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.1% | 98 min | 1% | 1,735 |
| Envoy Air | 80.9% | 78 min | 1% | 726 |
| Allegiant Air | 79.3% | 145 min | 0.8% | 371 |
What delays out of COS were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 7,408 flights that departed COS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.5% put down to airline operations and 32.8% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.8%
- Airline operations 39.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.6%
- Severe weather 7.2%
- Security 0%
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 COS
Of 38,416 scheduled arrivals into COS, 75.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 8,959 arrivals that ran late, 55.1% 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 COS
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.
- DEN 79.2% on time · 14,954 flights
- DFW 76.6% on time · 5,806 flights
- PHX 82.9% on time · 2,938 flights
- LAS 80.2% on time · 2,799 flights
- DAL 82.1% on time · 2,651 flights
- ORD 81.3% on time · 2,268 flights
- ATL 86.6% on time · 1,471 flights
- SLC 93.2% on time · 1,447 flights
- MDW 79.9% on time · 1,017 flights
- IAH 82.3% on time · 1,006 flights
COS in one number
City of Colorado Springs (COS)
Rank 89 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about COS
- What is the best time of day to fly out of City of Colorado Springs?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.5% of the time across 1,697 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 65.3%.
- Is the early flight out of COS really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from COS left on time 90.7% of the time across 9,084 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.3% across 2,502. That is a gap of 25.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of COS?
- July: 74.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,544 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 85.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at COS?
- Delta Air Lines — 86.1% of its 1,735 departures from COS left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 77.5% over 3,266 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at COS?
- 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.