Best time to fly out of Indianapolis (IND)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Indianapolis: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 94.4% of the time, against 65.8% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 95 95 95 95 94 93 94
6–8am 92 93 94 94 91 90 91
8–10am 90 92 92 91 90 90 89
10am–12pm 87 88 91 88 87 87 88
12–2pm 81 86 86 80 80 81 80
2–4pm 78 84 81 78 75 77 74
4–6pm 75 81 79 74 75 75 70
6–8pm 70 74 74 68 68 70 64
8–10pm 66 76 73 63 66 65 60
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at IND was Before 6am — 94.4% of departures left on time across 6,996 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 65.8%. 6–8am departures from IND left on time 92.2% of the time across 30,600 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.5% across 17,949. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at IND

July was the hard month at IND: 75.7% of departures left on time, across 12,487 flights. November was the easy one at 87.8%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 82.9%.
Departure on-time share at IND by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 82.4% 10,727
February 85.7% 10,192
March 80.9% 12,879
April 85% 12,193
May 80.4% 12,639
June 79.4% 12,567
July 75.7% 12,487
August 83% 11,747
September 86.6% 11,305
October 87.3% 12,972
November 87.8% 11,539
December 81% 11,476

Airlines at IND

Every airline with at least 100 departures from IND, 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
Republic Airways 87.9% 66 min 2.1% 39,155
Southwest Airlines 78.6% 53 min 0.7% 36,053
American Airlines 80.6% 103 min 1.6% 19,689
Delta Air Lines 88.4% 85 min 0.9% 13,139
United Airlines 83.6% 73 min 1.4% 7,628
Spirit Airlines 78.7% 81 min 2.5% 5,822
Allegiant Air 79.5% 87 min 1% 4,703
SkyWest Airlines 81% 100 min 2.1% 4,287
Endeavor Air 87.3% 85 min 2.5% 3,668
Envoy Air 82.8% 76 min 1.6% 2,993
Frontier Airlines 74.6% 90 min 2.2% 2,637
Alaska Airlines 73.6% 52 min 1.4% 1,624
PSA Airlines 78.2% 107 min 6.1% 1,325

What delays out of IND were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 25,375 flights that departed IND and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 38.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 38.2% Airline operations 29% Air traffic & airport volume 27.7% Severe weather 5% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 38.2%
  • Airline operations 29%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 27.7%
  • Severe weather 5%
  • 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 IND

Of 142,732 scheduled arrivals into IND, 77% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 30,358 arrivals that ran late, 53.4% 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 IND

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.

IND in one number

Indianapolis (IND)

Rank 41 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 140,499 departures flown

82.9% of departures left on time

Questions about IND

What is the best time of day to fly out of Indianapolis?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 94.4% of the time across 6,996 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 65.8%.
Is the early flight out of IND really more reliable?
6–8am departures from IND left on time 92.2% of the time across 30,600 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.5% across 17,949. That is a gap of 22.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of IND?
July: 75.7% of the departures that flew left on time, with 12,487 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 87.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at IND?
Delta Air Lines — 88.4% of its 13,139 departures from IND left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 73.6% over 1,624 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at IND?
1.6% 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.