Best time to fly out of Norfolk (ORF)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Norfolk: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91.7% of the time, against 63.9% 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 | 91 | 93 | 91 | 92 | 92 | 92 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 90 | 93 | 90 | 90 | 91 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 83 | 86 | 89 | 87 | 87 | 88 | 86 |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 86 | 85 | 84 | 81 | 84 | 84 |
| 12–2pm | 75 | 83 | 86 | 81 | 78 | 82 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 73 | 78 | 79 | 72 | 72 | 75 | 72 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 77 | 78 | 73 | 73 | 72 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 67 | 77 | 76 | 67 | 69 | 67 | 61 |
| 8–10pm | 62 | 73 | 72 | 69 | 62 | 64 | 57 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at ORF was Before 6am — 91.7% of departures left on time across 4,071 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 63.9%. 6–8am departures from ORF left on time 90.2% of the time across 14,020 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 7,234. That is a gap of 21.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ORF
July was the hard month at ORF: 68.9% of departures left on time, across 5,896 flights. October was the easy one at 87%. 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 | 83.8% | 4,313 |
| February | 85% | 4,044 |
| March | 81.8% | 4,731 |
| April | 83.5% | 4,923 |
| May | 78.8% | 5,244 |
| June | 73.8% | 5,553 |
| July | 68.9% | 5,896 |
| August | 79.6% | 5,808 |
| September | 86.2% | 5,596 |
| October | 87% | 5,682 |
| November | 86.7% | 5,129 |
| December | 80.1% | 5,030 |
Airlines at ORF
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ORF, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Airways | 86.3% | 86 min | 4.1% | 10,055 |
| Southwest Airlines | 77.3% | 54 min | 0.7% | 9,501 |
| PSA Airlines | 81% | 101 min | 2.3% | 9,264 |
| American Airlines | 79.1% | 114 min | 1.9% | 8,465 |
| Delta Air Lines | 82.2% | 77 min | 1.3% | 8,287 |
| United Airlines | 86.2% | 93 min | 1.8% | 6,160 |
| Endeavor Air | 83.4% | 94 min | 3% | 3,469 |
| Spirit Airlines | 72.4% | 77 min | 3.6% | 2,296 |
| Envoy Air | 81.9% | 74 min | 1.5% | 1,348 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 75.8% | 96 min | 0.9% | 1,058 |
| Frontier Airlines | 72.7% | 95 min | 2.6% | 1,028 |
| Allegiant Air | 63.5% | 91 min | 3.8% | 533 |
| JetBlue Airways | 69.1% | 82 min | 0.6% | 485 |
What delays out of ORF were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 12,004 flights that departed ORF and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 33.3% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.4%
- Airline operations 33.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 21.5%
- Severe weather 5.7%
- 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 ORF
Of 61,948 scheduled arrivals into ORF, 74.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 14,117 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 ORF
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 83.6% on time · 7,990 flights
- CLT 81.4% on time · 7,701 flights
- LGA 79.1% on time · 4,677 flights
- BWI 83.4% on time · 4,654 flights
- ORD 80% on time · 4,241 flights
- JFK 83.7% on time · 3,667 flights
- DCA 73.6% on time · 3,596 flights
- DFW 73% on time · 3,057 flights
- EWR 81.3% on time · 2,630 flights
- PHL 78.9% on time · 2,509 flights
ORF in one number
Norfolk (ORF)
Rank 67 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ORF
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Norfolk?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91.7% of the time across 4,071 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 63.9%.
- Is the early flight out of ORF really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ORF left on time 90.2% of the time across 14,020 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 7,234. That is a gap of 21.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ORF?
- July: 68.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 5,896 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ORF?
- Republic Airways — 86.3% of its 10,055 departures from ORF left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 63.5% over 533 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at ORF?
- 2.2% 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.