80% of flights leaving El Paso (ELP) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 5 points better than the national average of 76%. About 51 flights leave ELP on a typical day; 1.0% were cancelled. 80% 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: 5 a.m. (93% on time). Worst: 4 p.m. (59%).
- Best month: February (86%). Worst: June (74%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (85%), vs Southwest Airlines at 79%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (48% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (83% → 80%).
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 ELP: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 54% of the time. About 1 in 16 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 73 three hours or more; 1.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early80%
- 15–30 min late6.7%
- 30–60 min late5.3%
- 1–2 hours late3.6%
- 2–3 hours late1.2%
- 3+ hours late1.4%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.0%
Share of all 18,536 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of ELP
Time of day matters more at ELP than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 93% of the time; at 4 p.m. it was 59%, a 34-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 90% on time against 67% 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: 7 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.0% of the time, against 1.0% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at ELP was a 9 a.m. departure in February (95% on time); the least, 4 p.m. in July (48%). 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
June is the hardest month at ELP, with 74% of flights on time across 2023–2026; February is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 8 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Cancellations peak in January (2.5% of flights).
Airlines at ELP
Southwest Airlines runs 47% of departures from ELP. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (85% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (79%), a 5-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 8,798 | 79% | 76% | 0.6% | −5 min |
| American Airlines | 4,955 | 81% | 82% | 1.6% | −9 min |
| United Airlines | 3,027 | 85% | 87% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 726 | 86% | 86% | 1.8% | −9 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 676 | 76% | 76% | 1.2% | −12 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 354 | 69% | 68% | 3.7% | −1 min |
Why flights are late at ELP
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At ELP, 48% 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 30%. 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 181 cancellations, 70% 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 80% of ELP departures were on time, against 83% in the 12 months before, a decline of 2 points. The best recent month was February 2026 (85%); the worst, June 2026 (72%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 29% of 49 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 25, 2026 | 49 | 29% | 41% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 39 | 21% | 72% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 45 | 18% | 53% |
| Feb 11, 2026 | 43 | 16% | 35% |
| Mar 7, 2026 | 45 | 13% | 47% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 43 | 9% | 77% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 54 | 9% | 69% |
| May 10, 2026 | 52 | 8% | 77% |
| Jun 19, 2026 | 53 | 8% | 45% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 53 | 8% | 49% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from ELP, each airline's final departure was cancelled 0.7% of the time, against 1.0% for its earlier flights, so at ELP the last flight is actually the steadier one. 1.6% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Dallas (2.2% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 5:32 p.m. | 2.2% | 2.7% | 70% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 2:25 p.m. | 1.4% | 2.5% | 82% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 7:07 p.m. | 1.7% | 1.4% | 79% |
| DAL Dallas | Southwest Airlines | 6:15 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.9% | 61% |
| IAH Houston | United Airlines | 4:00 p.m. | 0.8% | 1.9% | 81% |
| LAX Los Angeles | American Airlines | 12:05 p.m. | 0.6% | 1.7% | 86% |
| PHX Phoenix | Southwest Airlines | 8:00 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.1% | 65% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 2:32 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.9% | 77% |
| DEN Denver | Southwest Airlines | 4:15 p.m. | 0.0% | 2.0% | 54% |
| AUS Austin | Southwest Airlines | 7:25 p.m. | 0.6% | 1.4% | 67% |
| HOU Houston | Southwest Airlines | 3:30 p.m. | 0.0% | 1.4% | 69% |
| LAS Las Vegas | Southwest Airlines | 7:45 p.m. | 0.0% | 0.8% | 71% |
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 ELP
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At ELP the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in June? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Delayed already? Most delays at ELP come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from ELP
Where you're going matters too. From ELP, the most reliable busy route was to Houston (IAH, 86% on time) and the least reliable to Dallas (DFW, 76%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 2,593 | 76% | 2.5% | −7 min |
| DAL Dallas | 1,763 | 79% | 1.0% | −4 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,348 | 79% | 0.7% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,871 | 79% | 0.4% | −8 min |
| AUS Austin | 1,038 | 80% | 0.5% | −4 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 2,505 | 81% | 0.7% | −7 min |
| SAT San Antonio | 737 | 81% | 0.1% | −6 min |
| ORD Chicago | 727 | 82% | 1.4% | −7 min |
| HOU Houston | 1,034 | 83% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,279 | 84% | 0.3% | −9 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 726 | 86% | 1.8% | −9 min |
| IAH Houston | 1,938 | 86% | 0.4% | −7 min |
Flights into ELP
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into El Paso, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (66% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 2,594 | 66% | 2.6% |
| ORD Chicago | 724 | 69% | 1.9% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,348 | 73% | 0.5% |
| DAL Dallas | 1,770 | 73% | 1.0% |
| AUS Austin | 1,045 | 74% | 0.3% |
| DEN Denver | 1,872 | 74% | 0.3% |
| PHX Phoenix | 2,483 | 75% | 0.8% |
| HOU Houston | 1,041 | 77% | 0.3% |
| ATL Atlanta | 726 | 77% | 1.8% |
| SAT San Antonio | 737 | 79% | 0.1% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,283 | 80% | 0.2% |
| IAH Houston | 1,939 | 85% | 0.3% |
Questions about ELP delays
What is the best time to fly out of ELP?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 93% of ELP departures at that hour arrived on time, against 59% at 4 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at ELP?
June (74% on time). February is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at ELP?
United Airlines: 85% of its ELP departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 79%.
Why are flights delayed at ELP?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (48% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (30%).
How often are flights cancelled at ELP?
1.0% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 2.5%.
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.