Best time to fly out of Key West (EYW)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Key West: departures in the 8–10am band left on time 91.6% of the time, against 68.5% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 86 | 91 | 92 | 89 | 88 | 91 | 84 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | 94 | – | – | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 88 | 89 | 84 | 84 | 82 | 79 |
| 12–2pm | 74 | 77 | 82 | 77 | 75 | 70 | 71 |
| 2–4pm | 70 | 80 | 80 | 74 | 72 | 67 | 72 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 72 | 73 | 70 | 71 | 63 | 63 |
| 6–8pm | 79 | 83 | 84 | 82 | 77 | 75 | 75 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at EYW was 8–10am — 91.6% of departures left on time across 248 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 68.5%. 6–8am departures from EYW left on time 88.6% of the time across 1,434 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.2% across 2,756. That is a gap of 9.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at EYW
March was the hard month at EYW: 68.6% of departures left on time, across 2,579 flights. October was the easy one at 86.9%. 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 | 72.4% | 2,501 |
| February | 72.7% | 2,315 |
| March | 68.6% | 2,579 |
| April | 77.1% | 2,342 |
| May | 75.4% | 1,949 |
| June | 74.4% | 1,591 |
| July | 75.1% | 1,493 |
| August | 78.4% | 1,405 |
| September | 86.4% | 1,253 |
| October | 86.9% | 1,563 |
| November | 83.4% | 2,101 |
| December | 73.1% | 2,420 |
Airlines at EYW
Every airline with at least 100 departures from EYW, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Envoy Air | 77.6% | 62 min | 1.7% | 6,032 |
| American Airlines | 68.3% | 110 min | 2.3% | 5,153 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82.4% | 92 min | 1.7% | 4,139 |
| Republic Airways | 77.8% | 75 min | 2.6% | 3,451 |
| Allegiant Air | 78.2% | 97 min | 1.8% | 2,225 |
| United Airlines | 76.8% | 105 min | 1.8% | 1,613 |
| JetBlue Airways | 66.8% | 94 min | 2.1% | 520 |
| Endeavor Air | 83.6% | 146 min | 1.1% | 277 |
| Spirit Airlines | Not enough flights to say | 59 min | 4.9% | 102 |
What delays out of EYW were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,446 flights that departed EYW and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 51.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.4% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 51.3%
- Airline operations 28.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13.1%
- Severe weather 7.1%
- 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 EYW
Of 23,514 scheduled arrivals into EYW, 78.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,531 arrivals that ran late, 55.9% 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 EYW
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.
- ATL 83.5% on time · 4,388 flights
- CLT 75.7% on time · 3,949 flights
- MIA 79.4% on time · 3,699 flights
- DCA 77.6% on time · 1,678 flights
- ORD 68% on time · 1,470 flights
- EWR 74.4% on time · 1,393 flights
- PHL 67.4% on time · 1,378 flights
- DFW 62.7% on time · 1,197 flights
- LGA 76.1% on time · 1,066 flights
- PIE 79.5% on time · 689 flights
EYW in one number
Key West (EYW)
Rank 113 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 8–10am. Hardest month: March.
Questions about EYW
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Key West?
- 8–10am. Departures in that band left on time 91.6% of the time across 248 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 68.5%.
- Is the early flight out of EYW really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from EYW left on time 88.6% of the time across 1,434 flights; 6–8pm departures, 79.2% across 2,756. That is a gap of 9.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of EYW?
- March: 68.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,579 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at EYW?
- Endeavor Air — 83.6% of its 277 departures from EYW left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 66.8% over 520 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at EYW?
- 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.