Best time to fly out of Garden City (GCK)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Garden City: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 88.1% of the time, against 75.1% in the 2–4pm 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 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 89 | 88 | 87 | 88 |
| 6–8am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 67 | 81 | 77 | 79 | 71 | 73 | 77 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at GCK was Before 6am — 88.1% of departures left on time across 863 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 75.1%.
The year at GCK
March was the hard month at GCK: 77.8% of departures left on time, across 186 flights. September was the easy one at 89.9%. 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 | 82.4% | 186 |
| February | 82.3% | 168 |
| March | 77.8% | 186 |
| April | 79% | 180 |
| May | 78.7% | 186 |
| June | 79% | 180 |
| July | 84.5% | 186 |
| August | 84.4% | 186 |
| September | 89.9% | 180 |
| October | 85.6% | 186 |
| November | 82.8% | 177 |
| December | 81.4% | 184 |
Airlines at GCK
Every airline with at least 100 departures from GCK, 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 | 80.1% | 85 min | 2.3% | 1,206 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 85.2% | 116 min | 3.5% | 979 |
What delays out of GCK were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 430 flights that departed GCK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.7% put down to airline operations and 26.8% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 26.8%
- Airline operations 36.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 12.3%
- Severe weather 24.2%
- 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 GCK
Of 2,185 scheduled arrivals into GCK, 74.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 487 arrivals that ran late, 52% 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 GCK
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.
- DFW 79.7% on time · 2,185 flights
GCK in one number
Garden City (GCK)
Rank 260 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: March.
Questions about GCK
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Garden City?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 88.1% of the time across 863 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 75.1%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of GCK?
- March: 77.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 186 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 89.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at GCK?
- SkyWest Airlines — 85.2% of its 979 departures from GCK left on time. Envoy Air sat at the other end at 80.1% over 1,206 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at GCK?
- 2.8% 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.