76% of flights leaving Lincoln (LNK) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. About 9 flights leave LNK on a typical day; 2.0% were cancelled. 78% 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: 6 a.m. (87% on time). Worst: 3 p.m. (56%).
- Best month: September (85%). Worst: January (68%).
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (38% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (76% → 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 LNK: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 43% of the time. About 1 in 9 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 27 three hours or more; 2.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early76%
- 15–30 min late6.5%
- 30–60 min late4.7%
- 1–2 hours late4.5%
- 2–3 hours late2.5%
- 3+ hours late3.7%
- Diverted0.4%
- Cancelled2.0%
Share of all 3,391 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of LNK
Time of day matters more at LNK than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 87% of the time; at 3 p.m. it was 56%, a 31-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 84% on time against 64% 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: 3 p.m. departures were cancelled 5.3% of the time, against 2.0% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at LNK was a 6 a.m. departure in September (95% on time); the least, 6 a.m. in January (71%). 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 LNK, with 68% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 85%. Summer (June–August) runs 9 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 10 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.0% of flights).
Airlines at LNK
United Airlines runs 92% of departures from LNK, so LNK is effectively its hub. When United Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 3,126 | 75% | 78% | 2.1% | −6 min |
| American Airlines | 265 | 80% | 83% | 1.5% | −12 min |
Why flights are late at LNK
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At LNK, 38% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 26%. Of the 69 cancellations, 86% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 22 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
LNK vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LNK Lincoln | — | 3,391 | 76% | 2.0% |
| OMA Eppley Airfield | 55 mi | 26,647 | 79% | 1.5% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 76% of LNK departures were on time, against 76% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was September 2025 (85%); the worst, December 2025 (67%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Friday, Jul 3, 2026, when 25% 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.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 3, 2026 | 12 | 25% | 50% |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 12 | 17% | 50% |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 12 | 17% | 58% |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 11 | 9% | 55% |
| Jul 18, 2026 | 11 | 9% | 82% |
| Jun 9, 2026 | 12 | 8% | 75% |
| Aug 10, 2026 | 12 | 8% | 50% |
| Aug 31, 2026 | 12 | 8% | 67% |
| Aug 14, 2026 | 12 | 8% | 42% |
| Aug 9, 2026 | 12 | 8% | 50% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from LNK, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.3% of the time, against 1.6% for its earlier flights (2.1× 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. 3.5% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (5.2% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 3:03 p.m. | 5.2% | 4.7% | 57% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 5:05 p.m. | 2.2% | 3.3% | 64% |
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 LNK
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At LNK the 6 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.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of LNK; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at LNK come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from LNK
Where you're going matters too. From LNK, the most reliable busy route was to Denver (DEN, 79% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 72%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 1,624 | 72% | 3.3% | −3 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,588 | 79% | 0.9% | −10 min |
Flights into LNK
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Lincoln, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (59% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 1,628 | 59% | 3.4% |
| DEN Denver | 1,585 | 76% | 0.7% |
Questions about LNK delays
What is the best time to fly out of LNK?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 87% of LNK departures at that hour arrived on time, against 56% at 3 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at LNK?
January (68% on time). September is the best month (85%).
Why are flights delayed at LNK?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (38% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (26%).
How often are flights cancelled at LNK?
2.0% 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.