Best time to fly out of Frederick W. Smith (MEM)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Frederick W. Smith: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91% of the time, against 65.2% 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 | 90 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 89 | 90 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 93 | 92 | 92 | 89 | 91 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 88 | 90 | 88 | 86 | 85 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 85 | 84 | 82 | 78 | 82 | 80 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 83 | 83 | 80 | 78 | 80 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 74 | 81 | 80 | 75 | 70 | 75 | 71 |
| 4–6pm | 71 | 76 | 74 | 68 | 68 | 73 | 66 |
| 6–8pm | 72 | 75 | 78 | 69 | 71 | 66 | 64 |
| 8–10pm | 68 | – | – | 63 | 70 | 74 | 59 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MEM was 6–8am — 91% of departures left on time across 18,445 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 65.2%. 6–8am departures from MEM left on time 91% of the time across 18,445 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.5% across 6,692. That is a gap of 20.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MEM
July was the hard month at MEM: 74.3% of departures left on time, across 6,454 flights. September was the easy one at 87.6%. 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 | 81% | 4,928 |
| February | 86% | 4,638 |
| March | 81% | 5,806 |
| April | 83.5% | 5,892 |
| May | 76.8% | 6,420 |
| June | 75.9% | 6,557 |
| July | 74.3% | 6,454 |
| August | 82.9% | 6,253 |
| September | 87.6% | 5,909 |
| October | 86.8% | 6,409 |
| November | 84.9% | 5,705 |
| December | 81.7% | 5,564 |
Airlines at MEM
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MEM, 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 | 87.8% | 88 min | 1.3% | 13,390 |
| American Airlines | 79.3% | 105 min | 1.9% | 12,133 |
| Southwest Airlines | 77.8% | 56 min | 0.9% | 11,529 |
| Republic Airways | 85.9% | 83 min | 2.4% | 8,708 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 80.3% | 85 min | 1.3% | 5,683 |
| Envoy Air | 80.8% | 67 min | 1.8% | 4,805 |
| United Airlines | 85% | 81 min | 1.7% | 4,583 |
| PSA Airlines | 77% | 94 min | 3.6% | 3,791 |
| Spirit Airlines | 80.4% | 79 min | 1.7% | 2,391 |
| Allegiant Air | 64.7% | 95 min | 1% | 1,598 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.4% | 77 min | 2.5% | 1,346 |
| Frontier Airlines | 73.8% | 78 min | 1% | 578 |
What delays out of MEM were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,847 flights that departed MEM and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 36.4% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36.9%
- Airline operations 36.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.4%
- 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 MEM
Of 70,524 scheduled arrivals into MEM, 75.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 16,120 arrivals that ran late, 53.4% 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 MEM
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 87.8% on time · 10,171 flights
- DFW 72.9% on time · 7,408 flights
- ORD 78.2% on time · 5,893 flights
- CLT 80.3% on time · 5,637 flights
- LGA 84.4% on time · 3,882 flights
- DEN 79.1% on time · 3,848 flights
- DCA 80.6% on time · 3,443 flights
- DTW 86.8% on time · 2,566 flights
- MSP 87.6% on time · 2,538 flights
- MCO 81.4% on time · 2,391 flights
MEM in one number
Frederick W. Smith (MEM)
Rank 61 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MEM
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Frederick W. Smith?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91% of the time across 18,445 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 65.2%.
- Is the early flight out of MEM really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MEM left on time 91% of the time across 18,445 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.5% across 6,692. That is a gap of 20.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MEM?
- July: 74.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,454 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 87.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MEM?
- Delta Air Lines — 87.8% of its 13,390 departures from MEM left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 64.7% over 1,598 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MEM?
- 1.7% 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.