Best time to fly out of Hilton Head (HHH)
The early-flight folk wisdom bends at Hilton Head: the steadiest stretch was the 10am–12pm band at 85.1%, while 6–8pm departures managed 65.3%. 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 86 | 89 | 86 | 82 | 84 | 82 | 87 |
| 12–2pm | 86 | 89 | 88 | 84 | 82 | 73 | 82 |
| 2–4pm | 81 | 85 | 81 | 83 | 81 | 68 | 79 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 82 | 81 | 73 | 76 | 69 | 64 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | 69 | 62 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at HHH was 10am–12pm — 85.1% of departures left on time across 1,133 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 65.3%.
The year at HHH
May was the hard month at HHH: 71.8% of departures left on time, across 796 flights. October was the easy one at 87.1%. 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 | 84% | 197 |
| February | 82.2% | 219 |
| March | 83.3% | 348 |
| April | 80.9% | 654 |
| May | 71.8% | 796 |
| June | 78.2% | 814 |
| July | 72.1% | 771 |
| August | 79.7% | 716 |
| September | 84.9% | 610 |
| October | 87.1% | 536 |
| November | 85.6% | 273 |
| December | 79.5% | 246 |
Airlines at HHH
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HHH, 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 | 80.4% | 65 min | 1.9% | 3,490 |
| Republic Airways | 78.4% | 113 min | 2.6% | 2,690 |
What delays out of HHH were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,230 flights that departed HHH and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.4%
- Airline operations 30.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.5%
- Severe weather 7.2%
- Security 0.1%
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 HHH
Of 6,180 scheduled arrivals into HHH, 81.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,032 arrivals that ran late, 59.2% 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 HHH
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.
- CLT 81% on time · 3,107 flights
- DCA 83.6% on time · 809 flights
- EWR 77.1% on time · 638 flights
- LGA 70.1% on time · 600 flights
- ATL 87.2% on time · 594 flights
- ORD 63.4% on time · 232 flights
- PHL 73.7% on time · 141 flights
- BOS Not enough flights to say · 52 flights
- DFW Not enough flights to say · 7 flights
HHH in one number
Hilton Head (HHH)
Rank 196 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 10am–12pm. Hardest month: May.
Questions about HHH
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Hilton Head?
- 10am–12pm. Departures in that band left on time 85.1% of the time across 1,133 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%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HHH?
- May: 71.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 796 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at HHH?
- Envoy Air — 80.4% of its 3,490 departures from HHH left on time. Republic Airways sat at the other end at 78.4% over 2,690 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at HHH?
- 2.2% 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.