84% of flights leaving Anchorage (ANC) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 8 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 1 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 63 flights leave ANC on a typical day; 1.7% were cancelled. 83% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 1 a.m. (90% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (74%).
- Best month: May (88%). Worst: January (73%).
- Most reliable airline here: Alaska Airlines (85%), vs Delta Air Lines at 82%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (42% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (83% → 84%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving ANC: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 60% of the time. About 1 in 23 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 127 three hours or more; 1.7% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early84%
- 15–30 min late5.9%
- 30–60 min late4.3%
- 1–2 hours late2.6%
- 2–3 hours late0.9%
- 3+ hours late0.8%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled1.7%
Share of all 23,153 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of ANC
Time of day matters more at ANC than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 1 a.m. arrived on time 90% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 74%, a 16-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 88% on time against 79% 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: 6 p.m. departures were cancelled 3.4% of the time, against 1.7% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at ANC was a 8 a.m. departure in September (95% on time); the least, 2 p.m. in December (62%). 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
January is the hardest month at ANC, with 73% of flights on time across 2023–2026; May is the best at 88%. Summer (June–August) runs 3 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 7 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.0% of flights).
Airlines at ANC
Alaska Airlines runs 78% of departures from ANC, so ANC is effectively its hub. When Alaska Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Alaska Airlines was the most reliable (85% on time) and Delta Air Lines the least (82%), a 3-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 18,086 | 85% | 84% | 1.8% | −9 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,685 | 82% | 80% | 0.9% | −11 min |
| United Airlines | 1,534 | 82% | 82% | 1.5% | −10 min |
| American Airlines | 619 | 74% | 66% | 0.3% | −6 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 218 | 63% | 53% | 0.0% | +5 min |
Why flights are late at ANC
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At ANC, 42% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 38%. Of the 384 cancellations, 55% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 14 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 84% of ANC departures were on time, against 83% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was April 2026 (92%); the worst, January 2026 (70%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 4, 2026, when 18% of 57 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.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 4, 2026 | 57 | 18% | 49% |
| Oct 23, 2025 | 57 | 16% | 54% |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 54 | 15% | 61% |
| Dec 27, 2025 | 57 | 14% | 65% |
| Jan 6, 2026 | 55 | 13% | 13% |
| Jan 9, 2026 | 51 | 12% | 65% |
| Jan 1, 2026 | 37 | 11% | 84% |
| Jan 3, 2026 | 58 | 10% | 66% |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 59 | 10% | 68% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 50 | 10% | 70% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from ANC, each airline's final departure was cancelled 2.3% of the time, against 1.6% for its earlier flights (1.4× 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. 0.9% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Alaska Airlines to Kotzebue (9.0% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OTZ Kotzebue | Alaska Airlines | 4:04 p.m. | 9.0% | 0.0% | 75% |
| ADQ Kodiak | Alaska Airlines | 6:29 p.m. | 5.0% | 0.8% | 81% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 11:59 p.m. | 2.0% | 2.7% | 80% |
| OME Nome | Alaska Airlines | 3:25 p.m. | 3.6% | 0.8% | 75% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 10:10 p.m. | 0.4% | 4.0% | 75% |
| BET Bethel | Alaska Airlines | 6:19 p.m. | 3.6% | 0.3% | 78% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 8:17 p.m. | 0.0% | 2.9% | 65% |
| SCC Deadhorse | Alaska Airlines | 3:34 p.m. | 1.9% | 0.0% | 83% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 7:08 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.8% | 79% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 11:09 p.m. | 1.2% | 0.6% | 88% |
| PDX Portland | Alaska Airlines | 4:09 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.4% | 82% |
| SEA Seattle | Delta Air Lines | 2:12 p.m. | 0.5% | 1.1% | 83% |
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 ANC
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At ANC the 1 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in January? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Alaska Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of ANC; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at ANC come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from ANC
Where you're going matters too. From ANC, the most reliable busy route was to Portland (PDX, 88% on time) and the least reliable to Fairbanks (FAI, 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.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRW Barrow | 412 | 74% | 2.9% | −4 min |
| DFW Dallas | 394 | 75% | 0.3% | −8 min |
| OTZ Kotzebue | 716 | 79% | 6.3% | −8 min |
| HNL Honolulu | 438 | 80% | 0.2% | −8 min |
| ORD Chicago | 784 | 80% | 1.4% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 852 | 80% | 0.9% | −8 min |
| OME Nome | 721 | 81% | 4.2% | −7 min |
| BET Bethel | 878 | 82% | 3.4% | −6 min |
| DLG Dillingham | 431 | 82% | 5.1% | −8 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 777 | 82% | 1.0% | −6 min |
| ADQ Kodiak | 866 | 82% | 4.2% | −12 min |
| FAI Fairbanks | 2,409 | 84% | 2.9% | −9 min |
| SCC Deadhorse | 514 | 86% | 2.3% | −13 min |
| SEA Seattle | 6,636 | 86% | 0.8% | −12 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 450 | 86% | 0.0% | −10 min |
| JNU Juneau | 1,230 | 87% | 0.3% | −10 min |
| AKN King Salmon | 473 | 87% | 2.8% | −8 min |
| PDX Portland | 1,701 | 88% | 0.4% | −8 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 399 | 90% | 0.0% | −10 min |
Flights into ANC
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Ted Stevens Anchorage, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (64% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 394 | 64% | 0.3% |
| ORD Chicago | 784 | 70% | 0.6% |
| BET Bethel | 878 | 72% | 3.5% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 777 | 72% | 0.5% |
| HNL Honolulu | 438 | 73% | 0.5% |
| DEN Denver | 852 | 74% | 0.0% |
| BRW Barrow | 413 | 74% | 4.8% |
| PHX Phoenix | 450 | 75% | 0.0% |
| SEA Seattle | 6,641 | 76% | 0.7% |
| DLG Dillingham | 431 | 77% | 5.3% |
| OTZ Kotzebue | 716 | 79% | 6.4% |
| ADQ Kodiak | 866 | 81% | 3.8% |
| JNU Juneau | 1,230 | 82% | 2.8% |
| PDX Portland | 1,699 | 82% | 0.2% |
| FAI Fairbanks | 2,409 | 83% | 3.0% |
| OME Nome | 722 | 83% | 4.6% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 399 | 88% | 0.0% |
| SCC Deadhorse | 514 | 88% | 2.7% |
| AKN King Salmon | 473 | 91% | 2.8% |
Questions about ANC delays
What is the best time to fly out of ANC?
Flights scheduled at 1 a.m.: over the past year 90% of ANC departures at that hour arrived on time, against 74% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at ANC?
January (73% on time). May is the best month (88%).
Which airline is most on time at ANC?
Alaska Airlines: 85% of its ANC departures arrived on time over the past year. Delta Air Lines had the weakest record at 82%.
Why are flights delayed at ANC?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (42% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (38%).
How often are flights cancelled at ANC?
1.7% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.0%.
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.