Best time to fly out of Huntsville (HSV)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Huntsville: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 86.1% of the time, against 66.8% in the 6–8pm 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 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 89 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| 6–8am | 83 | 87 | 86 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 84 |
| 8–10am | 84 | 87 | 87 | 88 | 87 | 86 | 85 |
| 10am–12pm | 76 | 79 | 80 | 80 | 77 | 76 | 76 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 76 | 78 | 79 | 71 | 72 | 70 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 81 | 80 | 79 | 77 | 74 | 75 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 76 | 78 | 72 | 69 | 69 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 66 | 70 | 73 | 72 | 63 | 66 | 60 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at HSV was Before 6am — 86.1% of departures left on time across 2,647 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 66.8%. 6–8am departures from HSV left on time 85% of the time across 5,189 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.8% across 2,563. That is a gap of 18.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at HSV
July was the hard month at HSV: 74.1% of departures left on time, across 2,190 flights. October was the easy one at 83.9%. 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 | 76.2% | 1,910 |
| February | 79.3% | 1,893 |
| March | 79.2% | 2,239 |
| April | 81.2% | 2,149 |
| May | 75.9% | 2,245 |
| June | 76.4% | 2,151 |
| July | 74.1% | 2,190 |
| August | 80.1% | 2,198 |
| September | 83.6% | 2,244 |
| October | 83.9% | 2,201 |
| November | 82.7% | 2,063 |
| December | 76.6% | 1,929 |
Airlines at HSV
Every airline with at least 100 departures from HSV, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 74% | 100 min | 3.4% | 7,224 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.9% | 75 min | 1.5% | 6,394 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79% | 100 min | 1.1% | 5,490 |
| Envoy Air | 76.2% | 65 min | 2.1% | 4,701 |
| Endeavor Air | 86.6% | 78 min | 1.2% | 731 |
| Republic Airways | 88.2% | 52 min | 1.4% | 370 |
| American Airlines | 65.6% | 103 min | 4% | 351 |
| Allegiant Air | 64.7% | 126 min | 0.7% | 151 |
What delays out of HSV were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,219 flights that departed HSV and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.7% put down to airline operations and 37% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 37%
- Airline operations 39.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13.1%
- Severe weather 9.8%
- Security 0.3%
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 HSV
Of 25,414 scheduled arrivals into HSV, 76.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,409 arrivals that ran late, 49.7% 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 HSV
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 89.2% on time · 6,990 flights
- DFW 75.1% on time · 6,191 flights
- DCA 71.9% on time · 4,085 flights
- ORD 69.9% on time · 2,760 flights
- CLT 77.6% on time · 2,389 flights
- DEN 82.9% on time · 2,150 flights
- DTW 82.1% on time · 562 flights
- MIA Not enough flights to say · 100 flights
- FLL Not enough flights to say · 65 flights
- SFB Not enough flights to say · 40 flights
HSV in one number
Huntsville (HSV)
Rank 109 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about HSV
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Huntsville?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 86.1% of the time across 2,647 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 66.8%.
- Is the early flight out of HSV really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from HSV left on time 85% of the time across 5,189 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.8% across 2,563. That is a gap of 18.2 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of HSV?
- July: 74.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,190 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 83.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at HSV?
- Republic Airways — 88.2% of its 370 departures from HSV left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 64.7% over 151 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at HSV?
- 2.1% 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.