Best time to fly out of Miami (MIA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Miami: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 90.7% of the time, against 65.1% in the 6–8pm 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 | 88 | 91 | 91 | 92 | 91 | 90 | 87 |
| 6–8am | 89 | 91 | 92 | 93 | 91 | 91 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 87 | 84 |
| 10am–12pm | 80 | 82 | 81 | 81 | 79 | 77 | 75 |
| 12–2pm | 73 | 79 | 81 | 77 | 73 | 73 | 69 |
| 2–4pm | 70 | 75 | 76 | 69 | 69 | 68 | 63 |
| 4–6pm | 68 | 74 | 74 | 66 | 67 | 67 | 62 |
| 6–8pm | 64 | 72 | 70 | 64 | 66 | 65 | 57 |
| 8–10pm | 67 | 73 | 72 | 65 | 66 | 64 | 60 |
| 10pm–12am | 71 | 78 | 75 | 67 | 69 | 69 | 59 |
The steadiest stretch at MIA was 6–8am — 90.7% of departures left on time across 33,567 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 65.1%. 6–8am departures from MIA left on time 90.7% of the time across 33,567 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.1% across 47,889. That is a gap of 25.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at MIA
July was the hard month at MIA: 64.1% of departures left on time, across 26,435 flights. October was the easy one at 82.6%. 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 | 73.6% | 30,835 |
| February | 77.8% | 28,299 |
| March | 70.9% | 31,913 |
| April | 77.2% | 29,024 |
| May | 72.7% | 28,239 |
| June | 69.3% | 26,181 |
| July | 64.1% | 26,435 |
| August | 67.3% | 25,695 |
| September | 78% | 22,730 |
| October | 82.6% | 24,915 |
| November | 81.6% | 27,103 |
| December | 75.1% | 29,897 |
Airlines at MIA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from MIA, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 71.4% | 75 min | 1.4% | 183,477 |
| Envoy Air | 84.7% | 52 min | 1.2% | 41,637 |
| Delta Air Lines | 73.7% | 82 min | 1.4% | 33,986 |
| United Airlines | 79.3% | 86 min | 1.6% | 19,644 |
| Southwest Airlines | 72.7% | 59 min | 1.1% | 16,920 |
| Spirit Airlines | 73.9% | 77 min | 2.4% | 15,365 |
| Frontier Airlines | 76.1% | 91 min | 2.2% | 11,846 |
| JetBlue Airways | 67.1% | 98 min | 2.5% | 4,077 |
| Republic Airways | 78.2% | 104 min | 1.3% | 2,691 |
| Alaska Airlines | 76.2% | 67 min | 2.5% | 1,592 |
What delays out of MIA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 86,443 flights that departed MIA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 40.5% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 40.5%
- Airline operations 32.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.6%
- Severe weather 5.7%
- 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 MIA
Of 331,268 scheduled arrivals into MIA, 75.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 74,700 arrivals that ran late, 52.7% 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 MIA
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 72.2% on time · 19,565 flights
- LGA 71.5% on time · 17,469 flights
- JFK 71.7% on time · 15,458 flights
- DFW 71.4% on time · 14,435 flights
- ORD 74.6% on time · 13,297 flights
- EWR 72.7% on time · 12,502 flights
- DCA 74.7% on time · 11,646 flights
- MCO 72.3% on time · 11,482 flights
- BOS 70.4% on time · 11,210 flights
- CLT 76.1% on time · 10,985 flights
MIA in one number
Miami (MIA)
Rank 21 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about MIA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Miami?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 90.7% of the time across 33,567 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 65.1%.
- Is the early flight out of MIA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from MIA left on time 90.7% of the time across 33,567 flights; 6–8pm departures, 65.1% across 47,889. That is a gap of 25.6 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of MIA?
- July: 64.1% of the departures that flew left on time, with 26,435 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 82.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at MIA?
- Envoy Air — 84.7% of its 41,637 departures from MIA left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 67.1% over 4,077 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at MIA?
- 1.5% 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.