70% of flights leaving South Bend (SBN) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 6 points worse than the national average of 76%. About 23 flights leave SBN on a typical day; 2.5% were cancelled. 74% 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. (78% on time). Worst: 4 p.m. (56%).
- Best month: October (84%). Worst: January (61%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (77%), vs United Airlines at 65%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (42% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (76% → 70%).
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 SBN: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 45% of the time. About 1 in 8 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 23 three hours or more; 2.5% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early70%
- 15–30 min late8.2%
- 30–60 min late6.7%
- 1–2 hours late5.3%
- 2–3 hours late2.6%
- 3+ hours late4.4%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled2.5%
Share of all 8,446 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of SBN
Time of day matters more at SBN than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 78% of the time; at 4 p.m. it was 56%, a 22-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 77% on time against 63% 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 4.2% of the time, against 2.5% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at SBN was a 6 a.m. departure in September (93% on time); the least, 6 p.m. in August (50%). 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 SBN, with 61% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 84%. Summer (June–August) runs 9 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 13 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.3% of flights).
Airlines at SBN
United Airlines runs 38% of departures from SBN. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (77% on time) and United Airlines the least (65%), a 12-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 3,184 | 65% | 72% | 3.5% | +1 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,124 | 77% | 77% | 1.6% | −10 min |
| American Airlines | 2,045 | 73% | 74% | 2.9% | −11 min |
| Allegiant Air | 1,093 | 66% | 70% | 0.4% | −2 min |
Why flights are late at SBN
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At SBN, 42% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 27%. Of the 211 cancellations, 82% 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.
SBN vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SBN South Bend | — | 8,446 | 70% | 2.5% |
| AZO Kalamazoo/Battle Creek | 54 mi | 2,037 | 74% | 3.6% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 70% of SBN departures were on time, against 76% in the 12 months before, a decline of 6 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (83%); the worst, January 2026 (55%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Nov 29, 2025, when 60% of 25 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, 2025 | 25 | 60% | 24% |
| Mar 6, 2026 | 25 | 48% | 16% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 23 | 35% | 13% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 25 | 28% | 8% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 19 | 26% | 37% |
| Nov 30, 2025 | 26 | 23% | 0% |
| Jan 31, 2026 | 19 | 21% | 32% |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 19 | 21% | 47% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 29 | 21% | 10% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 25 | 20% | 20% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from SBN, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.6% of the time, against 2.8% for its earlier flights (1.3× 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. 3.9% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (8.0% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 6:36 p.m. | 8.0% | 4.1% | 52% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 6:37 p.m. | 3.3% | 4.1% | 69% |
| CLT Charlotte | American Airlines | 7:18 p.m. | 3.9% | 3.3% | 68% |
| DTW Detroit | Delta Air Lines | 3:10 p.m. | 0.9% | 4.6% | 78% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 5:02 p.m. | 1.9% | 3.0% | 67% |
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 SBN
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At SBN 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.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of SBN; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at SBN come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from SBN
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 2,790 | 63% | 3.9% | +2 min |
| DFW Dallas | 984 | 71% | 2.5% | −9 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,030 | 74% | 2.1% | −9 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,028 | 75% | 3.3% | −13 min |
| IAD Washington | 383 | 77% | 1.3% | −8 min |
| DTW Detroit | 713 | 78% | 1.1% | −11 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 366 | 82% | 1.1% | −9 min |
Flights into SBN
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into South Bend, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (60% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 2,789 | 60% | 4.4% |
| DTW Detroit | 713 | 70% | 1.0% |
| DFW Dallas | 984 | 72% | 1.9% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,028 | 72% | 3.1% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,030 | 73% | 1.9% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 371 | 75% | 1.1% |
| IAD Washington | 384 | 81% | 2.1% |
Questions about SBN delays
What is the best time to fly out of SBN?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 78% of SBN departures at that hour arrived on time, against 56% at 4 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at SBN?
January (61% on time). October is the best month (84%).
Which airline is most on time at SBN?
Delta Air Lines: 77% of its SBN departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 65%.
Why are flights delayed at SBN?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (42% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (27%).
How often are flights cancelled at SBN?
2.5% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.3%.
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.