Best time to fly out of OKC Will Rogers World (OKC)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at OKC Will Rogers World: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.5% of the time, against 68.9% 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 | 93 | 92 | 93 | 94 | 93 | 92 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 86 | 88 | 89 | 89 | 87 | 88 | 87 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 88 | 86 | 87 | 84 | 81 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 85 | 83 | 81 | 79 | 83 | 80 |
| 2–4pm | 79 | 82 | 82 | 78 | 79 | 79 | 79 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 76 | 78 | 73 | 76 | 76 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 76 | 77 | 78 | 73 | 74 | 74 | 71 |
| 8–10pm | 69 | 80 | 78 | 64 | 70 | 70 | 65 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at OKC was Before 6am — 92.5% of departures left on time across 4,572 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 68.9%. 6–8am departures from OKC left on time 91.5% of the time across 15,029 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.4% across 7,283. That is a gap of 17.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at OKC
June was the hard month at OKC: 76% of departures left on time, across 6,380 flights. September was the easy one at 86.8%. 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 | 85.2% | 5,191 |
| February | 86.6% | 4,927 |
| March | 84.2% | 5,832 |
| April | 84.1% | 5,816 |
| May | 78.3% | 6,208 |
| June | 76% | 6,380 |
| July | 77.4% | 6,335 |
| August | 83% | 5,963 |
| September | 86.8% | 5,650 |
| October | 86.2% | 6,070 |
| November | 86.1% | 5,628 |
| December | 84.8% | 5,718 |
Airlines at OKC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from OKC, 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 | 81.1% | 53 min | 0.7% | 21,764 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 85.1% | 96 min | 1% | 21,480 |
| American Airlines | 81.2% | 110 min | 2.2% | 7,764 |
| Envoy Air | 83.8% | 67 min | 2.2% | 5,342 |
| Delta Air Lines | 87.9% | 87 min | 1.3% | 5,196 |
| Republic Airways | 84.3% | 88 min | 3.3% | 3,106 |
| Frontier Airlines | 77.1% | 83 min | 1.3% | 1,599 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.2% | 111 min | 4% | 1,113 |
| Alaska Airlines | 83.6% | 39 min | 1.2% | 1,085 |
| United Airlines | 86.4% | 85 min | 0.8% | 833 |
| Allegiant Air | 67.6% | 82 min | 0.7% | 432 |
What delays out of OKC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,514 flights that departed OKC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37% put down to airline operations and 36% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36%
- Airline operations 37%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.2%
- Severe weather 8.7%
- 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 OKC
Of 69,721 scheduled arrivals into OKC, 76.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 15,420 arrivals that ran late, 54.8% 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 OKC
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.
- DFW 77.6% on time · 9,617 flights
- DEN 78.1% on time · 9,328 flights
- ORD 79.5% on time · 6,737 flights
- ATL 88.1% on time · 5,859 flights
- PHX 82.7% on time · 5,481 flights
- HOU 83% on time · 3,903 flights
- LAS 80.8% on time · 3,501 flights
- IAH 82.2% on time · 2,951 flights
- LGA 83.6% on time · 2,846 flights
- LAX 86.8% on time · 2,381 flights
OKC in one number
OKC Will Rogers World (OKC)
Rank 62 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about OKC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of OKC Will Rogers World?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.5% of the time across 4,572 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 68.9%.
- Is the early flight out of OKC really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from OKC left on time 91.5% of the time across 15,029 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.4% across 7,283. That is a gap of 17.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of OKC?
- June: 76% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,380 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 86.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at OKC?
- Delta Air Lines — 87.9% of its 5,196 departures from OKC left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 67.6% over 432 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at OKC?
- 1.3% 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.