Best time to fly out of Lihue (LIH)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Lihue: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 96% of the time, against 81.6% in the 2–4pm 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 | 96 | 95 | 97 | 97 | 96 | 96 | 96 |
| 8–10am | 94 | 95 | 97 | 94 | 92 | 93 | 97 |
| 10am–12pm | 92 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 87 | 89 | 91 |
| 12–2pm | 84 | 86 | 85 | 83 | 79 | 80 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 83 | 85 | 85 | 81 | 78 | 79 | 82 |
| 4–6pm | 85 | 88 | 88 | 83 | 76 | 84 | 84 |
| 6–8pm | 91 | 94 | 93 | 87 | 82 | 92 | 90 |
| 8–10pm | 92 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 88 | 90 | 87 |
| 10pm–12am | 84 | 87 | 87 | 88 | 84 | 83 | 85 |
The steadiest stretch at LIH was 6–8am — 96% of departures left on time across 4,341 flights. The weakest was 2–4pm at 81.6%. 6–8am departures from LIH left on time 96% of the time across 4,341 flights; 6–8pm departures, 89.5% across 3,933. That is a gap of 6.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at LIH
January was the hard month at LIH: 83.6% of departures left on time, across 3,970 flights. September was the easy one at 91.4%. 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 | 83.6% | 3,970 |
| February | 84.4% | 3,556 |
| March | 85.9% | 4,026 |
| April | 87% | 3,850 |
| May | 87.5% | 4,062 |
| June | 87.8% | 4,125 |
| July | 87.1% | 4,291 |
| August | 90.5% | 4,161 |
| September | 91.4% | 3,785 |
| October | 89.5% | 3,896 |
| November | 90.8% | 3,822 |
| December | 86.8% | 4,111 |
Airlines at LIH
Every airline with at least 100 departures from LIH, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaiian Airlines | 87.2% | 41 min | 1.1% | 21,707 |
| Southwest Airlines | 93.3% | 50 min | 0.3% | 9,686 |
| Alaska Airlines | 77.7% | 54 min | 1.6% | 7,903 |
| United Airlines | 93.6% | 100 min | 0.7% | 3,894 |
| American Airlines | 90% | 170 min | 0.1% | 2,274 |
| Delta Air Lines | 91% | 76 min | 1.9% | 2,191 |
What delays out of LIH were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 6,196 flights that departed LIH and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 54.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.2% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 54.1%
- Airline operations 34.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 8.1%
- 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 LIH
Of 47,649 scheduled arrivals into LIH, 84.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 6,694 arrivals that ran late, 70.8% 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 LIH
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.
- HNL 87% on time · 24,990 flights
- LAX 85.1% on time · 4,508 flights
- OGG 86.8% on time · 4,441 flights
- SEA 84.9% on time · 3,160 flights
- OAK 88.5% on time · 2,022 flights
- SFO 89.8% on time · 1,931 flights
- PHX 92.4% on time · 1,152 flights
- DEN 95.6% on time · 1,140 flights
- KOA 81.5% on time · 1,098 flights
- LAS 94.7% on time · 1,096 flights
LIH in one number
Lihue (LIH)
Rank 80 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: January.
Questions about LIH
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Lihue?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 96% of the time across 4,341 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 2–4pm band was the weakest at 81.6%.
- Is the early flight out of LIH really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from LIH left on time 96% of the time across 4,341 flights; 6–8pm departures, 89.5% across 3,933. That is a gap of 6.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of LIH?
- January: 83.6% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,970 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 91.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at LIH?
- United Airlines — 93.6% of its 3,894 departures from LIH left on time. Alaska Airlines sat at the other end at 77.7% over 7,903 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at LIH?
- 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.