Best time to fly out of Manhattan (MHK)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Manhattan: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.7% of the time, against 77.5% in the 4–6pm 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 | 96 | 91 | 91 | 98 | 95 | 92 | 92 |
| 6–8am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 82 | 86 | 86 | 84 | 77 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 84 | 78 | 76 | 73 | 78 | 77 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at MHK was Before 6am — 93.7% of departures left on time across 901 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 77.5%.
The year at MHK
June was the hard month at MHK: 79.1% of departures left on time, across 359 flights. September was the easy one at 90.7%. 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 | 82.9% | 315 |
| February | 88.3% | 285 |
| March | 84.6% | 310 |
| April | 81.1% | 354 |
| May | 82.2% | 368 |
| June | 79.1% | 359 |
| July | 81.7% | 246 |
| August | 84% | 224 |
| September | 90.7% | 227 |
| October | 82.2% | 329 |
| November | 90.4% | 321 |
| December | 83.5% | 334 |
Airlines at MHK
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MHK, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Envoy Air | 85.1% | 85 min | 2.8% | 2,859 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.8% | 126 min | 3% | 813 |
What delays out of MHK were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 583 flights that departed MHK and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 43% put down to airline operations and 27% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 27%
- Airline operations 43%
- Air traffic & airport volume 17.3%
- Severe weather 12.6%
- 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 MHK
Of 3,673 scheduled arrivals into MHK, 76.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 760 arrivals that ran late, 52.8% 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 MHK
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.
MHK in one number
Manhattan (MHK)
Rank 221 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about MHK
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Manhattan?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.7% of the time across 901 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 77.5%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MHK?
- June: 79.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 359 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 90.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MHK?
- Envoy Air — 85.1% of its 2,859 departures from MHK left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 79.8% over 813 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MHK?
- 2.8% 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.