Best time to fly out of Yampa Valley (HDN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Yampa Valley: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 82.9% of the time, against 68.7% 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 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 82 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | – | – | 79 | 80 | 75 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 77 | 79 | 72 | 70 | 70 | 68 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 78 | 78 | 75 | 75 | 61 | 68 |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | 65 | 73 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at HDN was 6–8am — 82.9% of departures left on time across 1,175 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 68.7%.
The year at HDN
February was the hard month at HDN: 65.6% of departures left on time, across 1,170 flights. October was the easy one at 90.2%. 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 | 76.6% | 1,138 |
| February | 65.6% | 1,170 |
| March | 73.7% | 1,293 |
| April | 86% | 345 |
| May | 75.7% | 301 |
| June | 71.3% | 377 |
| July | 72.4% | 402 |
| August | 74.2% | 389 |
| September | 87.2% | 352 |
| October | 90.2% | 316 |
| November | 83.8% | 296 |
| December | 72% | 809 |
Airlines at HDN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HDN, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 76.8% | 88 min | 1.3% | 2,199 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79% | 90 min | 1.2% | 2,149 |
| Southwest Airlines | 74% | 67 min | 0.8% | 1,650 |
| American Airlines | 64.9% | 146 min | 1.1% | 435 |
| Delta Air Lines | 70.5% | 67 min | 2.2% | 409 |
| JetBlue Airways | 62.3% | 166 min | 2.1% | 195 |
| Envoy Air | 58.1% | 58 min | 2% | 151 |
What delays out of HDN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,851 flights that departed HDN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 42.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 24.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 42.8%
- Airline operations 24.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.8%
- Severe weather 9.6%
- 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 HDN
Of 7,188 scheduled arrivals into HDN, 74.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,722 arrivals that ran late, 55.2% 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 HDN
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 75.4% on time · 4,385 flights
- ORD 72.6% on time · 471 flights
- DFW 63.3% on time · 441 flights
- ATL 72.8% on time · 314 flights
- EWR 76.8% on time · 250 flights
- LAX 81% on time · 229 flights
- IAH 82.9% on time · 227 flights
- DAL 68.6% on time · 226 flights
- SAN 70.5% on time · 151 flights
- BOS 57.1% on time · 110 flights
HDN in one number
Yampa Valley (HDN)
Rank 185 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: February.
Questions about HDN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Yampa Valley?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 82.9% of the time across 1,175 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 68.7%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HDN?
- February: 65.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,170 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 90.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at HDN?
- SkyWest Airlines — 79% of its 2,149 departures from HDN left on time. Envoy Air sat at the other end at 58.1% over 151 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at HDN?
- 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.