Best time to fly out of John F. Kennedy (JFK)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at John F. Kennedy: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.4% of the time, against 67.7% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 87 | 89 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 91 | 89 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 90 | 90 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 88 | 89 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 84 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 86 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 85 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 81 | 84 | 80 | 79 | 80 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 79 | 80 | 75 | 73 | 76 | 72 |
| 4–6pm | 74 | 79 | 78 | 74 | 73 | 75 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 69 | 74 | 73 | 67 | 70 | 69 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | 74 | 71 | 65 | 69 | 65 | 62 |
| 10pm–12am | 69 | 72 | 72 | 64 | 68 | 66 | 63 |
The steadiest stretch at JFK was 6–8am — 90.4% of departures left on time across 47,353 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 67.7%. 6–8am departures from JFK left on time 90.4% of the time across 47,353 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 37,341. That is a gap of 20.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at JFK
July was the hard month at JFK: 68.5% of departures left on time, across 31,320 flights. November was the easy one at 84.9%. 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 | 79.5% | 25,820 |
| February | 80.7% | 24,550 |
| March | 79.2% | 27,282 |
| April | 82.9% | 27,034 |
| May | 80.4% | 28,183 |
| June | 75.6% | 28,053 |
| July | 68.5% | 31,320 |
| August | 75.6% | 31,102 |
| September | 81.7% | 29,703 |
| October | 84.6% | 30,580 |
| November | 84.9% | 29,286 |
| December | 75.7% | 29,537 |
Airlines at JFK
Every airline with at least 100 departures from JFK, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 71% | 75 min | 2.4% | 109,009 |
| Delta Air Lines | 81.1% | 76 min | 1.4% | 91,128 |
| Republic Airways | 84.9% | 75 min | 3.5% | 49,098 |
| American Airlines | 84.4% | 98 min | 1.6% | 43,630 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.2% | 80 min | 3.8% | 26,387 |
| Alaska Airlines | 81.3% | 70 min | 2.1% | 11,686 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.2% | 103 min | 3.3% | 5,886 |
| Frontier Airlines | 75.9% | 87 min | 1.7% | 4,706 |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 76% | 68 min | 0.8% | 920 |
What delays out of JFK were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 75,849 flights that departed JFK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to airline operations and 31.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 31.7%
- Airline operations 37.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 26.8%
- Severe weather 3.4%
- Security 0.2%
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 JFK
Of 342,365 scheduled arrivals into JFK, 75.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 73,412 arrivals that ran late, 48.4% 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 JFK
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.
- LAX 80% on time · 30,232 flights
- SFO 77.3% on time · 20,197 flights
- BOS 75.1% on time · 16,852 flights
- MIA 75.3% on time · 15,464 flights
- MCO 72.3% on time · 14,447 flights
- FLL 72.7% on time · 11,649 flights
- ATL 76.3% on time · 11,635 flights
- SJU 71% on time · 11,028 flights
- LAS 80.2% on time · 10,589 flights
- RDU 78.7% on time · 9,663 flights
JFK in one number
John F. Kennedy (JFK)
Rank 20 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about JFK
- What is the best time of day to fly out of John F. Kennedy?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.4% of the time across 47,353 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 67.7%.
- Is the early flight out of JFK really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from JFK left on time 90.4% of the time across 47,353 flights; 6–8pm departures, 69.6% across 37,341. That is a gap of 20.8 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of JFK?
- July: 68.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 31,320 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 84.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at JFK?
- Endeavor Air — 85.2% of its 26,387 departures from JFK left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 71% over 109,009 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at JFK?
- 2.3% 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.