Best time to fly out of St. Petersburg (PIE)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at St. Petersburg Clearwater: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 93.1% of the time, against 60% 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 | 91 | 96 | 94 | 93 | 94 | 93 | 94 |
| 8–10am | 91 | 90 | 90 | 92 | 93 | 93 | 90 |
| 10am–12pm | 78 | 89 | 92 | 84 | 82 | 84 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 76 | 80 | 81 | 75 | 75 | 73 | 73 |
| 2–4pm | 79 | 74 | 77 | 82 | 81 | 74 | 77 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 67 | 73 | 75 | 75 | 65 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 61 | 59 | 58 | 64 | 59 | 61 | 56 |
| 8–10pm | 62 | – | – | 69 | 65 | 61 | 54 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at PIE was 6–8am — 93.1% of departures left on time across 5,040 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 60%. 6–8am departures from PIE left on time 93.1% of the time across 5,040 flights; 6–8pm departures, 60% across 3,216. That is a gap of 33.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at PIE
July was the hard month at PIE: 71.3% of departures left on time, across 2,785 flights. October 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 | 83.1% | 1,867 |
| February | 80.8% | 1,976 |
| March | 78% | 2,695 |
| April | 82.8% | 2,219 |
| May | 79.1% | 2,269 |
| June | 73.1% | 2,772 |
| July | 71.3% | 2,785 |
| August | 78.7% | 2,000 |
| September | 82.1% | 1,435 |
| October | 84.8% | 1,995 |
| November | 84.2% | 1,873 |
| December | 77% | 2,220 |
Airlines at PIE
Every airline with at least 100 departures from PIE, 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 | 79% | 72 min | 1.2% | 26,106 |
What delays out of PIE were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,727 flights that departed PIE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 27% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.9%
- Airline operations 27%
- Air traffic & airport volume 19.8%
- Severe weather 12.4%
- Security 0.9%
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 PIE
Of 26,110 scheduled arrivals into PIE, 71.1% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 7,118 arrivals that ran late, 49.7% 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 PIE
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.
- AVL 77.1% on time · 1,494 flights
- TYS 72.4% on time · 1,455 flights
- GRR 78.2% on time · 1,095 flights
- CVG 69% on time · 1,077 flights
- ABE 80.2% on time · 829 flights
- FNT 73.5% on time · 780 flights
- IND 72.1% on time · 713 flights
- EYW 86.5% on time · 688 flights
- BGR 86.6% on time · 640 flights
- USA 71.5% on time · 629 flights
PIE in one number
St. Petersburg Clearwater (PIE)
Rank 107 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about PIE
- What is the best time of day to fly out of St. Petersburg Clearwater?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 93.1% of the time across 5,040 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 60%.
- Is the early flight out of PIE really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from PIE left on time 93.1% of the time across 5,040 flights; 6–8pm departures, 60% across 3,216. That is a gap of 33.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of PIE?
- July: 71.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,785 scheduled. October 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 PIE?
- 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.