Best time to fly out of Sarasota Bradenton (SRQ)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Sarasota Bradenton: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 94.9% of the time, against 67.8% 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 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 94 | 94 | 96 | 97 | 95 | 96 | 93 |
| 8–10am | 91 | 91 | 94 | 95 | 95 | 91 | 93 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 85 | 88 | 84 | 85 | 82 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 82 | 82 | 80 | 80 | 75 | 74 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 81 | 79 | 81 | 77 | 75 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 75 | 78 | 76 | 75 | 78 | 69 | 67 |
| 6–8pm | 69 | 73 | 72 | 71 | 72 | 65 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | 74 | – | – | 72 | 69 | 61 | 67 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at SRQ was 6–8am — 94.9% of departures left on time across 8,374 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 67.8%. 6–8am departures from SRQ left on time 94.9% of the time across 8,374 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 5,682. That is a gap of 26 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at SRQ
July was the hard month at SRQ: 74.2% of departures left on time, across 3,518 flights. September was the easy one at 87.4%. 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 | 79.9% | 4,685 |
| February | 82.9% | 4,808 |
| March | 77.5% | 6,202 |
| April | 83.3% | 5,172 |
| May | 79.1% | 4,262 |
| June | 79.9% | 3,552 |
| July | 74.2% | 3,518 |
| August | 80.3% | 3,009 |
| September | 87.4% | 2,594 |
| October | 86.6% | 3,713 |
| November | 85.9% | 4,139 |
| December | 78% | 4,795 |
Airlines at SRQ
Every airline with at least 100 departures from SRQ, 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 | 79.7% | 60 min | 1.9% | 13,127 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.8% | 98 min | 2.3% | 9,477 |
| Allegiant Air | 84.9% | 84 min | 1.4% | 9,295 |
| American Airlines | 76.6% | 103 min | 2.3% | 7,267 |
| United Airlines | 83.5% | 93 min | 2% | 4,812 |
| JetBlue Airways | 71% | 87 min | 2.8% | 2,489 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.8% | 107 min | 3.3% | 1,276 |
| Frontier Airlines | 73.9% | 101 min | 3.3% | 1,115 |
| Republic Airways | 76.1% | 97 min | 3.9% | 882 |
| Envoy Air | 83.9% | 73 min | 0.8% | 634 |
What delays out of SRQ were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 9,468 flights that departed SRQ and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 28.5% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 46.9%
- Airline operations 28.5%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.1%
- Severe weather 4.5%
- Security 0%
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 SRQ
Of 50,454 scheduled arrivals into SRQ, 76.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 10,677 arrivals that ran late, 54.1% 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 SRQ
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 87.3% on time · 7,574 flights
- CLT 81.7% on time · 4,900 flights
- BWI 83.9% on time · 4,060 flights
- EWR 85.4% on time · 2,750 flights
- ORD 72.4% on time · 2,545 flights
- BNA 83.1% on time · 1,999 flights
- LGA 77.9% on time · 1,954 flights
- BOS 74.1% on time · 1,683 flights
- PHL 76.2% on time · 1,665 flights
- MDW 77.1% on time · 1,497 flights
SRQ in one number
Sarasota Bradenton (SRQ)
Rank 77 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about SRQ
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Sarasota Bradenton?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 94.9% of the time across 8,374 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 67.8%.
- Is the early flight out of SRQ really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from SRQ left on time 94.9% of the time across 8,374 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.9% across 5,682. That is a gap of 26 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of SRQ?
- July: 74.2% of the departures that flew left on time, with 3,518 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 87.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at SRQ?
- Allegiant Air — 84.9% of its 9,295 departures from SRQ left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 71% over 2,489 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at SRQ?
- 2.1% 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.