76% of flights leaving Houston (HOU) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. That ranks 54 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 147 flights leave HOU on a typical day; 0.9% were cancelled. 72% 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: 7 p.m. (61%).
- Best month: September (85%). Worst: July (67%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (82%), vs Southwest Airlines at 76%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (45% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (79% → 76%).
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 HOU: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 62% of the time. About 1 in 16 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 158 three hours or more; 0.9% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early76%
- 15–30 min late9.7%
- 30–60 min late7.3%
- 1–2 hours late4.3%
- 2–3 hours late1.2%
- 3+ hours late0.6%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled0.9%
Share of all 53,580 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of HOU
Time of day matters more at HOU than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 93% of the time; at 7 p.m. it was 61%, a 32-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 91% on time against 66% 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 a.m. departures were cancelled 1.4% of the time, against 0.9% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at HOU was a 5 a.m. departure in November (96% on time); the least, 4 p.m. in July (51%). 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
July is the hardest month at HOU, with 67% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 85%. Summer (June–August) runs 13 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Cancellations peak in January (3.6% of flights).
Airlines at HOU
Southwest Airlines runs 93% of departures from HOU, so HOU is effectively its hub. When Southwest Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (82% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (76%), a 7-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 | 49,994 | 76% | 72% | 0.7% | −3 min |
| American Airlines | 1,972 | 76% | 76% | 4.0% | −8 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,387 | 82% | 82% | 2.1% | −10 min |
| Allegiant Air | 227 | 74% | 78% | 0.0% | −5 min |
Why flights are late at HOU
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At HOU, 45% 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 34%. 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 461 cancellations, 51% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 13 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
HOU vs nearby airports
HOU isn't the only option in Houston. Over the past year IAH ran 80% on time with 1.1% of flights cancelled, against 76% and 0.9% at HOU. IAH has the better record, so if fares and times are close, it is the safer pick.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU Houston Hobby | — | 53,580 | 76% | 0.9% |
| IAH Houston Bush Intercontinental | 24 mi | 171,260 | 80% | 1.1% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 76% of HOU departures were on time, against 79% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (86%); the worst, June 2026 (63%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 31% of 144 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 | 144 | 31% | 44% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 112 | 27% | 66% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 125 | 10% | 58% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 157 | 10% | 47% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 155 | 10% | 23% |
| Nov 7, 2025 | 162 | 8% | 55% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 138 | 7% | 85% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | 167 | 7% | 86% |
| Jan 23, 2026 | 125 | 6% | 86% |
| Nov 8, 2025 | 128 | 6% | 64% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from HOU, each airline's final departure was cancelled 0.9% of the time, against 1.0% for its earlier flights, about the same. 0.7% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Dallas (7.1% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 8:23 p.m. | 7.1% | 2.5% | 66% |
| LGA New York | Southwest Airlines | 5:25 p.m. | 3.3% | 3.8% | 41% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 5:17 p.m. | 2.2% | 2.2% | 78% |
| DCA Washington | Southwest Airlines | 6:35 p.m. | 1.7% | 1.7% | 52% |
| IND Indianapolis | Southwest Airlines | 7:25 p.m. | 1.6% | 0.8% | 54% |
| DAL Dallas | Southwest Airlines | 9:25 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.8% | 67% |
| MEM Memphis | Southwest Airlines | 7:25 p.m. | 1.3% | 0.6% | 65% |
| TUL Tulsa | Southwest Airlines | 2:45 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.5% | 68% |
| SAN San Diego | Southwest Airlines | 8:40 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.3% | 64% |
| BWI Baltimore | Southwest Airlines | 8:20 p.m. | 0.8% | 0.5% | 59% |
| ATL Atlanta | Southwest Airlines | 7:25 p.m. | 0.5% | 0.8% | 61% |
| MDW Chicago | Southwest Airlines | 8:40 p.m. | 0.5% | 0.8% | 62% |
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 HOU
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At HOU the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Delayed already? Most delays at HOU come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from HOU
Where you're going matters too. From HOU, the most reliable busy route was to New Orleans (MSY, 82% on time) and the least reliable to New York (LGA, 60%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA New York | 1,358 | 60% | 2.6% | +5 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 810 | 64% | 0.4% | +5 min |
| DCA Washington | 1,052 | 66% | 1.8% | +1 min |
| MDW Chicago | 1,843 | 69% | 1.0% | +2 min |
| TPA Tampa | 1,010 | 73% | 0.4% | −1 min |
| SAN San Diego | 985 | 73% | 0.7% | −1 min |
| MEM Memphis | 840 | 73% | 1.2% | −1 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,188 | 73% | 0.2% | 0 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,482 | 74% | 1.4% | 0 min |
| IND Indianapolis | 492 | 74% | 0.6% | −1 min |
| AUS Austin | 1,315 | 74% | 0.4% | −3 min |
| OKC Oklahoma City | 1,216 | 75% | 0.9% | −3 min |
| BHM Birmingham | 445 | 75% | 0.4% | −1 min |
| HRL Harlingen | 1,165 | 76% | 0.2% | −4 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,972 | 76% | 4.0% | −8 min |
| MCO Orlando | 2,057 | 76% | 0.8% | −2 min |
| TUL Tulsa | 580 | 76% | 0.7% | −3 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 1,003 | 76% | 0.4% | −4 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 2,081 | 76% | 0.5% | −4 min |
| BNA Nashville | 1,835 | 77% | 0.7% | −1 min |
| ELP El Paso | 1,041 | 77% | 0.3% | −4 min |
| DEN Denver | 2,369 | 77% | 0.3% | −5 min |
| SAT San Antonio | 1,282 | 77% | 0.1% | −4 min |
| CRP Corpus Christi | 985 | 77% | 0.1% | −6 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 410 | 78% | 0.5% | −3 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 2,850 | 78% | 1.3% | −5 min |
| OAK Oakland | 375 | 78% | 0.5% | −2 min |
| JAN Jackson | 729 | 78% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| ABQ Albuquerque | 979 | 79% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| STL St. Louis | 1,567 | 79% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 2,018 | 79% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| DAL Dallas | 4,039 | 80% | 2.1% | −8 min |
| MAF Midland | 1,363 | 82% | 0.4% | −8 min |
| MSY New Orleans | 2,289 | 82% | 0.2% | −8 min |
| LGB Long Beach | 440 | 87% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| OMA Omaha | 374 | 89% | 0.3% | −8 min |
Flights into HOU
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Houston Hobby, least reliable first. The weakest is from Austin (67% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| AUS Austin | 1,298 | 67% | 0.4% |
| LGA New York | 1,359 | 69% | 3.7% |
| SAN San Diego | 985 | 69% | 0.4% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,194 | 69% | 0.2% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 812 | 69% | 1.0% |
| PHX Phoenix | 2,124 | 71% | 0.5% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 2,020 | 72% | 0.4% |
| MDW Chicago | 1,849 | 72% | 1.2% |
| DAL Dallas | 4,044 | 73% | 1.9% |
| DFW Dallas | 1,972 | 74% | 3.6% |
| DCA Washington | 1,053 | 74% | 2.2% |
| BNA Nashville | 1,819 | 74% | 0.8% |
| DEN Denver | 2,341 | 75% | 0.6% |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,471 | 75% | 1.4% |
| SAT San Antonio | 1,298 | 75% | 0.3% |
| MCO Orlando | 2,056 | 75% | 1.1% |
| OAK Oakland | 376 | 75% | 0.5% |
| MSY New Orleans | 2,276 | 75% | 0.7% |
| LGB Long Beach | 440 | 77% | 0.2% |
| ECP Panama City | 365 | 77% | 0.0% |
| MEM Memphis | 840 | 78% | 0.6% |
| STL St. Louis | 1,547 | 78% | 0.3% |
| TPA Tampa | 1,032 | 78% | 0.5% |
| ATL Atlanta | 2,847 | 79% | 1.4% |
| OMA Omaha | 373 | 79% | 0.5% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 38 routes into HOU.
Questions about HOU delays
What is the best time to fly out of HOU?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 93% of HOU departures at that hour arrived on time, against 61% at 7 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at HOU?
July (67% on time). September is the best month (85%).
Which airline is most on time at HOU?
Delta Air Lines: 82% of its HOU departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 76%.
Why are flights delayed at HOU?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (45% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (34%).
Is HOU or IAH more reliable?
Over the past year: HOU 76% on time, IAH 80%.
How often are flights cancelled at HOU?
0.9% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 3.6%.
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.