Best time to fly out of Joplin (JLN)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Joplin: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 85.3% of the time, against 78.4% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 89 | 89 | 87 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 79 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | 74 | – | – | 78 | 78 | 87 | 76 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at JLN was 6–8am — 85.3% of departures left on time across 743 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 78.4%. 6–8am departures from JLN left on time 85.3% of the time across 743 flights; 6–8pm departures, 78.4% across 676. That is a gap of 6.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at JLN
June was the hard month at JLN: 73.3% of departures left on time, across 163 flights. November was the easy one at 90.6%. 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 | 82.7% | 173 |
| February | 83.4% | 162 |
| March | 78.7% | 178 |
| April | 81.4% | 163 |
| May | 76.8% | 168 |
| June | 73.3% | 163 |
| July | 77.4% | 168 |
| August | 77% | 168 |
| September | 80.5% | 164 |
| October | 85.5% | 167 |
| November | 90.6% | 162 |
| December | 85.2% | 165 |
Airlines at JLN
Every airline with at least 100 departures from JLN, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 81% | 141 min | 2.1% | 2,001 |
What delays out of JLN were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 418 flights that departed JLN and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.7% put down to airline operations and 25.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 25.7%
- Airline operations 39.7%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.7%
- Severe weather 11.9%
- 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 JLN
Of 2,001 scheduled arrivals into JLN, 75.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 438 arrivals that ran late, 44.3% 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 JLN
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.
JLN in one number
Joplin (JLN)
Rank 278 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about JLN
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Joplin?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 85.3% of the time across 743 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 78.4%.
- Is the early flight out of JLN really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from JLN left on time 85.3% of the time across 743 flights; 6–8pm departures, 78.4% across 676. That is a gap of 6.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of JLN?
- June: 73.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 163 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 90.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at JLN?
- 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.