AMA Rick Husband Amarillo delays

84% of flights leaving Amarillo (AMA) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 8 points better than the national average of 76%. About 16 flights leave AMA on a typical day; 1.4% were cancelled. 84% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.

How late?

Best time of day to fly out of AMA

Time of day matters more at AMA than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 92% of the time; at 5 p.m. it was 68%, a 25-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 90% on time against 74% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 5 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.9% of the time, against 1.4% overall.

Hour × month

Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at AMA was a 5 a.m. departure in October (97% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in June (52%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.

Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.

Best and worst months

May is the hardest month at AMA, with 75% of flights on time across 2023–2026; February is the best at 87%. Summer (June–August) runs 6 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Cancellations peak in January (6.0% of flights).

Airlines at AMA

American Airlines runs 40% of departures from AMA. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, American Airlines was the most reliable (84% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (83%), a 1-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.

Why flights are late at AMA

Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At AMA, 41% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 29%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 83 cancellations, 77% were blamed on weather.

The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 15 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.

Month by month

Over the latest 12 months 84% of AMA departures were on time, against 79% in the 12 months before, an improvement of 4 points. The best recent month was February 2026 (91%); the worst, June 2026 (77%).

Worst cancellation days

The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Jan 24, 2026, when 92% of 12 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.

Last flights of the day

The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from AMA, each airline's final departure was cancelled 2.3% of the time, against 1.2% for its earlier flights (1.9× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.0% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Denver (3.5% cancelled).

Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.

Tips for flying out of AMA

• Book the earliest departure you can live with. At AMA the 5 a.m. flights do best.
• Traveling in May? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
• Choosing between airlines? American Airlines has the better record here.
• Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of AMA; the one before it leaves you a backup.
• Delayed already? Most delays at AMA come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.

Routes from AMA

Where you're going matters too. From AMA, the most reliable busy route was to Dallas (DAL, 85% on time) and the least reliable to Dallas (DFW, 84%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.

Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.

Flights into AMA

Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Rick Husband Amarillo, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (73% on time).

Questions about AMA delays

What is the best time to fly out of AMA?

Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 92% of AMA departures at that hour arrived on time, against 68% at 5 p.m., the worst hour.

What month has the most flight delays at AMA?

May (75% on time). February is the best month (87%).

Which airline is most on time at AMA?

American Airlines: 84% of its AMA departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 83%.

Why are flights delayed at AMA?

The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (41% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (29%).

How often are flights cancelled at AMA?

1.4% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 6.0%.

Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.