ON TIMEBOARD

OMA → STL on time

Eppley Airfield (Omaha, NE) to St. Louis Lambert (St. Louis, MO). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
88%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.5%
812 flights
Typical arrival
−11 min
median vs schedule
When late
+55 min
average delay
Flights / day
2
1 airline

88% of flights from Omaha to St. Louis arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is better than the typical U.S. route. The 8 a.m. departures ran on time 96% of the time; the 5 p.m. ones 74%. 4% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for OMA → STL: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 58% of the time. About 1 in 29 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 162 three hours or more; 0.5% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 812 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Southwest Airlines81288%0.5%−11 min3.4%+55 minSouthwest Airlines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at OMA). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%5 a.m. departures: too few flights (96 flights)5a6 a.m. departures: too few flights (96 flights)6a7 a.m. departures: too few flights (35 flights)7a8 a.m. departures: 96% on time (138 flights)968a9 a.m. departures: too few flights (8 flights)9a10 a.m. departures: too few flights10a11 a.m. departures: too few flights (1 flights)11anoon departures: too few flights (10 flights)12p1 p.m. departures: too few flights (81 flights)1p2 p.m. departures: too few flights (14 flights)2p3 p.m. departures: too few flights (29 flights)3p4 p.m. departures: 82% on time (119 flights)824p5 p.m. departures: 74% on time (148 flights)745p6 p.m. departures: too few flights (37 flights)6p
OMA → STL, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

Last flight of the day

On OMA → STL, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 0.3% of the time, against 0.7% for its earlier flights, so here the last flight is actually the safer one. It arrived 3+ hours late 0.9% of the time (earlier flights: 0.4%). It matters more than the numbers suggest. Miss an earlier flight and there's another one that evening; miss the last one and you're usually waiting until morning.

AirlineLast departureLast: cancelledLast: 3h+ lateEarlier: cancelledNext morning
Southwest Airlines5:05 p.m.0.3%0.9%0.7%first flight 8:12 a.m.

Last flight = the airline's last scheduled departure on this route that day, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Times are typical scheduled times over the latest three months.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026. Best: September (94%). Worst: May (80%).

40%70%100%Jan: 84% on time (182 flights)84JanFeb: 88% on time (163 flights)88FebMar: 86% on time (185 flights)86MarApr: 88% on time (180 flights)88AprMay: 80% on time (186 flights)80MayJun: 80% on time (192 flights)80JunJul: 85% on time (198 flights)85JulAug: 91% on time (211 flights)91AugSep: 94% on time (219 flights)94SepOct: 91% on time (246 flights)91OctNov: 91% on time (197 flights)91NovDec: 87% on time (209 flights)87Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday12182%0.8%
Tuesday11691%0.0%
Wednesday11493%0.0%
Thursday11580%0.9%
Friday12093%0.0%
Saturday91——
Sunday13588%0.7%

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Late inbound plane 55%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 28%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 10%Severe weather 5%Security 2%

Cancellations: air traffic/airport 2 · airline 1 · weather 1

Month by month

Not enough months with data to draw a trend.

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Dec 28, 2025333%0
Oct 27, 2025333%0
Dec 1, 2025333%0
Oct 19, 2025333%0
Dec 14, 2025367%0

Questions

How often are flights from OMA to STL on time?

88% of 812 scheduled flights from Omaha, NE to St. Louis, MO arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 0.5% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly OMA to STL?

Flights scheduled to leave at 8 a.m. were the most reliable (96% on time). The 5 p.m. departures were the least (74%).

What month has the most delays from OMA to STL?

May (80% on time). The best month is September (94%), over 2023–2026.

Is the last flight of the day from OMA to STL more likely to be cancelled?

No, the opposite. Each airline's last OMA–STL flight of the day was cancelled 0.3% of the time over the past year, against 0.7% for its earlier flights. If the last flight is cancelled, the next one is usually the following morning.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.