Best time to fly out of Eppley Airfield (OMA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Eppley Airfield: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.8% of the time, against 60.6% 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 | 92 | 91 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 90 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 91 | 93 | 91 |
| 8–10am | 84 | 89 | 89 | 88 | 88 | 88 | 86 |
| 10am–12pm | 83 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 83 | 84 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 83 | 83 | 81 | 77 | 82 | 83 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 80 | 79 | 78 | 79 | 82 | 77 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 75 | 75 | 67 | 73 | 76 | 72 |
| 6–8pm | 75 | 75 | 76 | 68 | 73 | 71 | 69 |
| 8–10pm | 65 | 56 | 65 | 57 | 58 | 65 | 61 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at OMA was 6–8am — 91.8% of departures left on time across 14,642 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 60.6%. 6–8am departures from OMA left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.5% across 8,007. That is a gap of 19.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at OMA
June was the hard month at OMA: 75% of departures left on time, across 6,636 flights. September was the easy one at 88%. 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 | 80.7% | 5,736 |
| February | 85.6% | 5,351 |
| March | 81.1% | 6,203 |
| April | 85.6% | 5,901 |
| May | 78.2% | 6,410 |
| June | 75% | 6,636 |
| July | 75.5% | 6,347 |
| August | 82.8% | 6,052 |
| September | 88% | 5,727 |
| October | 87% | 6,293 |
| November | 86.3% | 5,922 |
| December | 81.3% | 6,028 |
Airlines at OMA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from OMA, 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 | 78.4% | 52 min | 0.9% | 23,651 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 84.9% | 90 min | 0.8% | 13,803 |
| United Airlines | 85% | 94 min | 1.3% | 9,373 |
| American Airlines | 80.4% | 103 min | 1.7% | 8,990 |
| Delta Air Lines | 87.2% | 97 min | 1.1% | 5,594 |
| Republic Airways | 87.8% | 89 min | 2.2% | 3,132 |
| Envoy Air | 83.2% | 73 min | 2.1% | 2,414 |
| Allegiant Air | 77.6% | 80 min | 1% | 1,783 |
| Alaska Airlines | 86.4% | 57 min | 0.6% | 1,417 |
| Frontier Airlines | 71.8% | 104 min | 2% | 1,023 |
| Endeavor Air | 89% | 111 min | 2.1% | 862 |
| PSA Airlines | 75% | 89 min | 3.4% | 564 |
What delays out of OMA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 13,005 flights that departed OMA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36.3%
- Airline operations 34.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.3%
- Severe weather 8.5%
- 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 OMA
Of 72,610 scheduled arrivals into OMA, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 16,064 arrivals that ran late, 55.6% 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 OMA
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.
- DEN 77% on time · 9,842 flights
- ORD 78.5% on time · 7,510 flights
- ATL 87.2% on time · 5,829 flights
- PHX 84% on time · 5,571 flights
- DFW 75.9% on time · 4,553 flights
- MDW 83% on time · 4,276 flights
- MSP 82.8% on time · 4,149 flights
- LAS 82.9% on time · 3,398 flights
- DTW 83.1% on time · 3,205 flights
- CLT 81.4% on time · 2,717 flights
OMA in one number
Eppley Airfield (OMA)
Rank 59 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about OMA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Eppley Airfield?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 60.6%.
- Is the early flight out of OMA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from OMA left on time 91.8% of the time across 14,642 flights; 6–8pm departures, 72.5% across 8,007. That is a gap of 19.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of OMA?
- June: 75% of the departures that flew left on time, with 6,636 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at OMA?
- Endeavor Air — 89% of its 862 departures from OMA left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 71.8% over 1,023 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at OMA?
- 1.2% 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.