FlightRecord

Fairbanks International Airport (FAI): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Fairbanks International Airport (FAI) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 95% on-time in April 2026 but sank to 66% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 84% against a national 78%, over roughly 11 departures a day to 6 destinations.

Departures on-time
84%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
12 min
Arrivals on-time
79%
Cancelled
0.9%
Destinations
6
nonstop
Airlines
3

Plan your departure from FAI

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 9 a.m.
99% on-time
Best day to fly
Saturday
86% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Alaska Airlines
87% on-time from FAI
Cancellation risk
0.9%
below the US average
Check routes from FAI ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at FAI50%75%100%June 2024: 83% on-time (373 flights)83Jun 2024July 2024: 75% on-time (384 flights)75August 2024: 79% on-time (394 flights)79September 2024: 83% on-time (347 flights)83Sep 2024October 2024: 88% on-time (266 flights)88November 2024: 88% on-time (209 flights)88December 2024: 84% on-time (219 flights)84Dec 2024January 2025: 87% on-time (272 flights)87February 2025: 90% on-time (248 flights)90March 2025: 94% on-time (287 flights)94Mar 2025April 2025: 91% on-time (249 flights)91May 2025: 85% on-time (266 flights)85June 2025: 82% on-time (393 flights)82Jun 2025July 2025: 81% on-time (439 flights)81August 2025: 80% on-time (438 flights)80September 2025: 93% on-time (359 flights)93Sep 2025October 2025: 88% on-time (257 flights)88November 2025: 91% on-time (264 flights)91December 2025: 66% on-time (287 flights)66Dec 2025January 2026: 82% on-time (355 flights)82February 2026: 85% on-time (332 flights)85March 2026: 79% on-time (357 flights)79Mar 2026April 2026: 95% on-time (319 flights)95May 2026: 90% on-time (357 flights)90

Best time of day to depart from FAI

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at FAI5 a.m.: 95% on-time (688 flights)56 a.m.: 97% on-time (152 flights)67 a.m.: 93% on-time (349 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (229 flights)89 a.m.: 99% on-time (122 flights)910 a.m.: 96% on-time (246 flights)1011 a.m.: 84% on-time (316 flights)1112 p.m.: 89% on-time (545 flights)121 p.m.: 84% on-time (641 flights)133 p.m.: 71% on-time (890 flights)154 p.m.: 83% on-time (195 flights)168 p.m.: 77% on-time (386 flights)209 p.m.: 83% on-time (330 flights)2110 p.m.: 76% on-time (213 flights)2211 p.m.: 90% on-time (207 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday81%14 min
Tuesday85%13 min
Wednesday84%11 min
Thursday84%11 min
Friday82%13 min
Saturdaybest86%8 min
Sunday85%11 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from FAI ↓

Busiest routes from FAI

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
FAI → SEA (Seattle)2,34383%12 min
FAI → ANC (Anchorage)1,35586%10 min
FAI → ORD (Chicago)14885%9 min
FAI → DEN (Denver)12793%12 min

Compare airlines departing FAI ↓

Where flights into FAI come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
SEA (Seattle) → FAI2,34476%13 min
ANC (Anchorage) → FAI1,35689%7 min
ORD (Chicago) → FAI14875%14 min
DEN (Denver) → FAI12873%16 min

Most reliable routes

  1. FAI → DEN93%
  2. FAI → ANC86%
  3. FAI → ORD85%
  4. FAI → SEA83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. FAI → SEA83%
  2. FAI → ORD85%
  3. FAI → ANC86%
  4. FAI → DEN93%

What causes delays at FAI

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing FAI.

  • Late-arriving aircraft42%
  • Airline operations38%
  • National airspace system16%
  • Weather4%

Airline performance at FAI

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Alaska Airlines87%9 min5,896
United Airlines81%13 min505
Delta Air Lines76%24 min1,270

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at FAI?
16% of departures from Fairbanks International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 12 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from FAI?
Flights scheduled around 9 a.m. depart on time 99% of the time at FAI, versus 71% around 3 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at FAI?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at FAI, with 66% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at FAI?
0.9% of scheduled departures from FAI were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 7,671 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.