Best time to fly out of Chicago Rockford (RFD)
The early-flight folk wisdom bends at Chicago Rockford: the steadiest stretch was the 10am–12pm band at 85.7%, while 6–8pm departures managed 72.5%. 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | – | – | – | 89 | – | – | 83 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 4–6pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8pm | 73 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at RFD was 10am–12pm — 85.7% of departures left on time across 279 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 72.5%.
The year at RFD
March was the hard month at RFD: 71.8% of departures left on time, across 290 flights. September was the easy one at 83%. 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 | 72.7% | 205 |
| February | 73.5% | 200 |
| March | 71.8% | 290 |
| April | 79.9% | 224 |
| May | 73.6% | 235 |
| June | 75.4% | 255 |
| July | 72.2% | 221 |
| August | 75.7% | 185 |
| September | 83% | 172 |
| October | 74.4% | 217 |
| November | 76% | 183 |
| December | 74.8% | 232 |
Airlines at RFD
Every airline with at least 100 departures from RFD, 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 | 75% | 98 min | 0.8% | 2,619 |
What delays out of RFD were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 664 flights that departed RFD and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 45.4% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 23.2% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 45.4%
- Airline operations 23.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.7%
- Severe weather 11.9%
- Security 0.8%
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 RFD
Of 2,618 scheduled arrivals into RFD, 83.4% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 407 arrivals that ran late, 55.8% 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 RFD
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.
- PGD 74.5% on time · 565 flights
- AZA 78.7% on time · 481 flights
- SFB 66.8% on time · 411 flights
- PIE 69% on time · 409 flights
- LAS 74.9% on time · 314 flights
- SRQ 81.3% on time · 255 flights
- BNA 85.2% on time · 108 flights
- FLL Not enough flights to say · 40 flights
- LAX Not enough flights to say · 36 flights
RFD in one number
Chicago Rockford (RFD)
Rank 243 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 10am–12pm. Hardest month: March.
Questions about RFD
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Chicago Rockford?
- 10am–12pm. Departures in that band left on time 85.7% of the time across 279 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 72.5%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of RFD?
- March: 71.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 290 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 83%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- How often are flights cancelled at RFD?
- 0.8% 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.