Best time to fly out of Blue Grass (LEX)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Blue Grass: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.1% of the time, against 61.4% 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 | 93 | 92 | 96 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 94 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 93 | 90 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 86 | 88 | 86 | 89 | 84 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 84 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 82 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 84 | 81 | 84 | 81 | 86 | 82 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 78 | 79 | 76 | 76 | 74 | 70 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 83 | 80 | 76 | 75 | 75 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 78 | 78 | 75 | 71 | 74 | 70 | 67 |
| 8–10pm | 64 | 64 | 65 | 60 | 62 | 62 | 56 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at LEX was Before 6am — 93.1% of departures left on time across 1,230 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 61.4%. 6–8am departures from LEX left on time 90.8% of the time across 6,828 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 3,007. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at LEX
June was the hard month at LEX: 75.1% of departures left on time, across 2,586 flights. November was the easy one at 86.4%. 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 | 81.1% | 1,894 |
| February | 83.3% | 1,825 |
| March | 83.1% | 2,140 |
| April | 84.4% | 2,340 |
| May | 79.5% | 2,485 |
| June | 75.1% | 2,586 |
| July | 75.4% | 2,464 |
| August | 80.8% | 2,327 |
| September | 86.2% | 2,245 |
| October | 85% | 2,526 |
| November | 86.4% | 2,110 |
| December | 79.9% | 1,945 |
Airlines at LEX
Every airline with at least 100 departures from LEX, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 88% | 84 min | 1.4% | 5,801 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 82% | 94 min | 1.6% | 5,699 |
| PSA Airlines | 81.9% | 92 min | 2.7% | 5,630 |
| Envoy Air | 82% | 67 min | 1.7% | 2,737 |
| Allegiant Air | 64.4% | 89 min | 1.4% | 2,620 |
| Republic Airways | 88.8% | 77 min | 1.5% | 2,052 |
| American Airlines | 73.2% | 118 min | 2.1% | 1,758 |
| Endeavor Air | 86% | 101 min | 0% | 550 |
What delays out of LEX were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,205 flights that departed LEX and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 37.1% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 40.1%
- Airline operations 37.1%
- Air traffic & airport volume 15.5%
- 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 LEX
Of 26,889 scheduled arrivals into LEX, 76.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,821 arrivals that ran late, 50.7% 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 LEX
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 89.1% on time · 6,135 flights
- CLT 79% on time · 5,246 flights
- ORD 76.3% on time · 4,502 flights
- DFW 78% on time · 3,323 flights
- DTW 86% on time · 2,426 flights
- DEN 82.9% on time · 1,006 flights
- DCA 88.4% on time · 902 flights
- SFB 51.6% on time · 653 flights
- PHL 80.2% on time · 606 flights
- PIE 65.5% on time · 554 flights
LEX in one number
Blue Grass (LEX)
Rank 105 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about LEX
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Blue Grass?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.1% of the time across 1,230 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 61.4%.
- Is the early flight out of LEX really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from LEX left on time 90.8% of the time across 6,828 flights; 6–8pm departures, 73.1% across 3,007. That is a gap of 17.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of LEX?
- June: 75.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,586 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 86.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at LEX?
- Republic Airways — 88.8% of its 2,052 departures from LEX left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 64.4% over 2,620 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at LEX?
- 1.8% 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.