Best time to fly out of Punta Gorda (PGD)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Punta Gorda: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94.6% of the time, against 60.6% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 95 | 97 | 97 | 94 | 95 | 94 | 94 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 92 | 91 | 89 | 91 | 93 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 88 | 85 | 84 | 84 | 81 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 81 | 80 | 76 | 81 | 74 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 74 | 70 | 71 | 73 | 72 | 67 |
| 4–6pm | 70 | 67 | 73 | 67 | 73 | 64 | 63 |
| 6–8pm | 60 | – | – | 62 | 67 | 57 | 55 |
| 8–10pm | 65 | – | – | 65 | 64 | 59 | 55 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at PGD was 6–8am — 94.6% of departures left on time across 3,572 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 60.6%. 6–8am departures from PGD left on time 94.6% of the time across 3,572 flights; 6–8pm departures, 60.6% across 1,433. That is a gap of 34 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at PGD
June was the hard month at PGD: 75% of departures left on time, across 1,634 flights. November was the easy one at 84.8%. 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 | 75.2% | 1,936 |
| February | 80.8% | 2,053 |
| March | 77.4% | 2,730 |
| April | 83.7% | 1,983 |
| May | 77.9% | 1,520 |
| June | 75% | 1,634 |
| July | 75.5% | 1,604 |
| August | 77.2% | 1,137 |
| September | 82.6% | 894 |
| October | 84.2% | 1,555 |
| November | 84.8% | 1,589 |
| December | 75% | 2,122 |
Airlines at PGD
Every airline with at least 100 departures from PGD, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | 78.9% | 75 min | 0.9% | 20,757 |
What delays out of PGD were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 4,287 flights that departed PGD and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 32.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 31.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 32.8%
- Airline operations 31.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 17.5%
- Severe weather 17.6%
- 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 PGD
Of 20,765 scheduled arrivals into PGD, 73.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 5,128 arrivals that ran late, 49.8% 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 PGD
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.
- CVG 74.5% on time · 1,027 flights
- GRR 75.1% on time · 989 flights
- FNT 70.9% on time · 906 flights
- IND 70% on time · 713 flights
- ABE 79.1% on time · 704 flights
- AVL 67.9% on time · 685 flights
- PSM 89.2% on time · 646 flights
- FWA 82.9% on time · 639 flights
- ATW 78.6% on time · 627 flights
- SBN 80.4% on time · 625 flights
PGD in one number
Punta Gorda (PGD)
Rank 120 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about PGD
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Punta Gorda?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94.6% of the time across 3,572 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 60.6%.
- Is the early flight out of PGD really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from PGD left on time 94.6% of the time across 3,572 flights; 6–8pm departures, 60.6% across 1,433. That is a gap of 34 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of PGD?
- June: 75% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,634 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 84.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at PGD?
- 0.9% 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.