Best time to fly out of Sioux Falls (FSD)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Sioux Falls: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 88.8% of the time, against 68.3% 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 | 87 | 91 | 92 | 87 | 85 | 89 |
| 6–8am | 87 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 88 | 88 | 86 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 87 | 91 | 89 | 86 | 85 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 86 | 88 | 88 | 84 | 84 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 75 | 78 | 81 | 81 | 73 | 77 | 75 |
| 2–4pm | 77 | 79 | 81 | 76 | 77 | 81 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 73 | 75 | 71 | 76 | 79 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 69 | 82 | 73 | 67 | 73 | 65 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 73 | – | – | – | 64 | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at FSD was 6–8am — 88.8% of departures left on time across 2,841 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 68.3%. 6–8am departures from FSD left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 1,312. That is a gap of 19.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at FSD
December was the hard month at FSD: 74% of departures left on time, across 1,909 flights. October was the easy one at 85.3%. 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 | 79.3% | 1,731 |
| February | 83.3% | 1,724 |
| March | 83% | 1,951 |
| April | 84.8% | 1,925 |
| May | 83% | 1,975 |
| June | 76.2% | 1,909 |
| July | 74.2% | 1,739 |
| August | 78.7% | 1,645 |
| September | 85% | 1,678 |
| October | 85.3% | 1,889 |
| November | 82.6% | 1,803 |
| December | 74% | 1,909 |
Airlines at FSD
Every airline with at least 100 departures from FSD, 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 | 81.7% | 96 min | 1.3% | 8,459 |
| Allegiant Air | 76.7% | 86 min | 0.5% | 2,911 |
| Envoy Air | 79.5% | 63 min | 2.3% | 2,790 |
| United Airlines | 87% | 87 min | 1.2% | 2,239 |
| Delta Air Lines | 87.2% | 129 min | 1.2% | 2,128 |
| American Airlines | 71.9% | 93 min | 2% | 1,913 |
| Endeavor Air | 82.4% | 59 min | 0.5% | 629 |
| Frontier Airlines | 75.3% | 81 min | 1% | 589 |
| Republic Airways | 80.8% | 70 min | 2.2% | 181 |
What delays out of FSD were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,577 flights that departed FSD and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to airline operations and 29.2% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 29.2%
- Airline operations 37.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.1%
- Severe weather 13.7%
- 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 FSD
Of 21,879 scheduled arrivals into FSD, 75.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 4,954 arrivals that ran late, 52.5% 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 FSD
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 · 5,172 flights
- ORD 76.2% on time · 4,338 flights
- MSP 82.8% on time · 4,022 flights
- DFW 75.5% on time · 2,922 flights
- PHX 81.5% on time · 1,355 flights
- ATL 82.7% on time · 1,098 flights
- AZA 79.2% on time · 1,027 flights
- LAS 78.4% on time · 515 flights
- BNA 77.9% on time · 365 flights
- SFB 72.5% on time · 315 flights
FSD in one number
Sioux Falls (FSD)
Rank 117 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: December.
Questions about FSD
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Sioux Falls?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 68.3%.
- Is the early flight out of FSD really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from FSD left on time 88.8% of the time across 2,841 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 1,312. That is a gap of 19.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of FSD?
- December: 74% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,909 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 85.3%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at FSD?
- Delta Air Lines — 87.2% of its 2,128 departures from FSD left on time. American Airlines sat at the other end at 71.9% over 1,913 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at FSD?
- 1.3% 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.