Best time to fly out of Kansas City (MCI)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Kansas City: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 93.2% of the time, against 57.9% in the 10pm–12am 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 92 92 93 95 93 92 90
6–8am 92 93 94 94 94 93 92
8–10am 87 89 92 89 88 88 88
10am–12pm 83 87 88 86 85 85 84
12–2pm 79 84 84 80 77 81 78
2–4pm 75 82 82 76 73 76 73
4–6pm 71 76 74 67 69 72 68
6–8pm 70 74 73 68 69 69 62
8–10pm 66 71 68 61 66 63 59
10pm–12am 64 – – 62 54 – 52
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at MCI was 6–8am — 93.2% of departures left on time across 27,468 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 57.9%. 6–8am departures from MCI left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 16,938. That is a gap of 24.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at MCI

July was the hard month at MCI: 74.4% of departures left on time, across 13,520 flights. November was the easy one at 85.7%. 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, 81.2%.
Departure on-time share at MCI by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 81.3% 10,769
February 84.1% 10,358
March 81.3% 12,425
April 82.2% 12,259
May 78.2% 13,063
June 75.5% 13,426
July 74.4% 13,520
August 81.5% 12,973
September 85.2% 12,173
October 85.2% 12,956
November 85.7% 11,995
December 81% 12,005

Airlines at MCI

Every airline with at least 100 departures from MCI, 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
Southwest Airlines 78.1% 52 min 0.9% 72,052
Delta Air Lines 88.2% 93 min 1.2% 22,581
American Airlines 79.6% 106 min 1.8% 16,178
United Airlines 86.8% 86 min 1.3% 10,741
Republic Airways 87.1% 96 min 2.4% 4,793
SkyWest Airlines 82.5% 104 min 2.2% 4,442
Spirit Airlines 80% 80 min 2.3% 3,815
Envoy Air 82.2% 70 min 2.2% 3,763
PSA Airlines 78.8% 129 min 5.3% 2,765
Alaska Airlines 87.1% 58 min 0.9% 2,575
Endeavor Air 85.2% 95 min 4.1% 1,957
Frontier Airlines 72.7% 85 min 1% 1,138
Allegiant Air 70.6% 74 min 1.1% 708
JetBlue Airways 62% 133 min 2.7% 414

What delays out of MCI were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 27,509 flights that departed MCI and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.1% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 44.1% Airline operations 29% Air traffic & airport volume 21.1% Severe weather 5.6% Security 0.2%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 44.1%
  • Airline operations 29%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 21.1%
  • Severe weather 5.6%
  • 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 MCI

Of 147,922 scheduled arrivals into MCI, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 32,299 arrivals that ran late, 57.2% 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 MCI

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.

MCI in one number

Kansas City (MCI)

Rank 39 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 145,882 departures flown

81.2% of departures left on time

Questions about MCI

What is the best time of day to fly out of Kansas City?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 57.9%.
Is the early flight out of MCI really more reliable?
6–8am departures from MCI left on time 93.2% of the time across 27,468 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 16,938. That is a gap of 24.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of MCI?
July: 74.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 13,520 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 85.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at MCI?
Delta Air Lines — 88.2% of its 22,581 departures from MCI left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 62% over 414 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at MCI?
1.4% 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.