FlightRecord

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 89% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 67% in July 2026. Across the year it averages 79% against a national 78%, over roughly 281 departures a day to 82 destinations.

Departures on-time
79%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
17 min
Arrivals on-time
78%
Cancelled
2.7%
Destinations
82
nonstop
Airlines
9

Plan your departure from JFK

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
91% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
81% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Endeavor Air
85% on-time from JFK
Cancellation risk
2.7%
above the US average
Check routes from JFK ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at JFK50%75%100%August 2024: 73% on-time (10,862 flights)73Aug 2024September 2024: 86% on-time (10,376 flights)86October 2024: 89% on-time (10,732 flights)89November 2024: 88% on-time (10,140 flights)88Nov 2024December 2024: 76% on-time (10,268 flights)76January 2025: 83% on-time (8,327 flights)83February 2025: 81% on-time (7,850 flights)81Feb 2025March 2025: 82% on-time (8,737 flights)82April 2025: 85% on-time (8,628 flights)85May 2025: 80% on-time (9,021 flights)80May 2025June 2025: 74% on-time (8,848 flights)74July 2025: 70% on-time (9,262 flights)70August 2025: 79% on-time (9,110 flights)79Aug 2025September 2025: 85% on-time (8,567 flights)85October 2025: 81% on-time (8,928 flights)81November 2025: 80% on-time (8,626 flights)80Nov 2025December 2025: 70% on-time (8,856 flights)70January 2026: 77% on-time (8,022 flights)77February 2026: 77% on-time (7,458 flights)77Feb 2026March 2026: 77% on-time (8,392 flights)77April 2026: 84% on-time (8,254 flights)84May 2026: 84% on-time (8,535 flights)84May 2026June 2026: 78% on-time (8,750 flights)78July 2026: 67% on-time (9,185 flights)67

Best time of day to depart from JFK

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at JFK5 a.m.: 91% on-time (1,788 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (14,533 flights)67 a.m.: 91% on-time (19,106 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (20,014 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (15,754 flights)910 a.m.: 82% on-time (7,197 flights)1011 a.m.: 84% on-time (16,069 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (9,881 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (10,847 flights)132 p.m.: 75% on-time (12,046 flights)143 p.m.: 74% on-time (16,251 flights)154 p.m.: 77% on-time (13,514 flights)165 p.m.: 74% on-time (15,616 flights)176 p.m.: 71% on-time (11,609 flights)187 p.m.: 69% on-time (13,935 flights)198 p.m.: 66% on-time (11,773 flights)209 p.m.: 67% on-time (11,104 flights)2110 p.m.: 66% on-time (5,393 flights)2211 p.m.: 78% on-time (174 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday76%19 min
Tuesdaybest81%15 min
Wednesday79%16 min
Thursday74%20 min
Friday77%18 min
Saturday75%20 min
Sunday72%23 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from JFK ↓

Busiest routes from JFK

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
JFK → LAX (Los Angeles)10,28180%17 min
JFK → SFO (San Francisco)6,77077%18 min
JFK → BOS (Boston)5,67674%21 min
JFK → MCO (Orlando)4,84473%21 min
JFK → MIA (Miami)4,52975%22 min
JFK → ATL (Atlanta)4,24975%21 min
JFK → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)3,89773%19 min
JFK → LAS (Las Vegas)3,71381%13 min
JFK → SJU (San Juan)3,59072%21 min
JFK → PHX (Phoenix)3,03479%17 min
JFK → SEA (Seattle)2,90674%18 min
JFK → DCA (Washington)2,52071%21 min
JFK → SAN (San Diego)2,41579%12 min
JFK → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)2,34477%17 min
JFK → TPA (Tampa)2,30175%19 min
JFK → PBI (West Palm Beach/Palm Beach)2,20572%21 min
JFK → AUS (Austin)2,19180%18 min
JFK → ORD (Chicago)2,07475%24 min
JFK → CLT (Charlotte)2,00181%18 min
JFK → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,98475%23 min
JFK → SLC (Salt Lake City)1,92879%14 min
JFK → PIT (Pittsburgh)1,76477%20 min
JFK → CMH (Columbus)1,60080%16 min
JFK → DEN (Denver)1,56073%20 min
JFK → BNA (Nashville)1,43576%18 min
JFK → RSW (Fort Myers)1,28177%16 min
JFK → DTW (Detroit)1,22076%23 min
JFK → BUF (Buffalo)1,21873%21 min
JFK → JAX (Jacksonville)1,18775%20 min
JFK → MSY (New Orleans)1,14280%16 min
JFK → IND (Indianapolis)1,00077%19 min
JFK → PDX (Portland)91474%19 min
JFK → CHS (Charleston)78777%17 min
JFK → ORF (Norfolk)73184%11 min
JFK → MSP (Minneapolis)71982%19 min
JFK → CVG (Cincinnati)68283%11 min
JFK → CLE (Cleveland)67883%13 min
JFK → HNL (Honolulu)66672%19 min
JFK → SAV (Savannah)63277%17 min
JFK → ROC (Rochester)60670%22 min
JFK → STT (Charlotte Amalie)54480%18 min
JFK → SRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton)53479%15 min
JFK → SYR (Syracuse)51175%17 min
JFK → BQN (Aguadilla)46966%21 min
JFK → SNA (Santa Ana)46286%12 min
JFK → IAH (Houston)41375%17 min
JFK → PWM (Portland)39873%21 min
JFK → BDL (Hartford)36561%25 min
JFK → PVD (Providence)36565%22 min
JFK → SAT (San Antonio)36285%12 min

Compare airlines departing JFK ↓

Where flights into JFK come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LAX (Los Angeles) → JFK10,28480%19 min
SFO (San Francisco) → JFK6,76980%17 min
BOS (Boston) → JFK5,67276%18 min
MCO (Orlando) → JFK4,85674%23 min
MIA (Miami) → JFK4,53072%23 min
ATL (Atlanta) → JFK4,24174%22 min
FLL (Fort Lauderdale) → JFK3,88873%22 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → JFK3,70980%18 min

Most reliable routes

  1. JFK → VPS88%
  2. JFK → DAB86%
  3. JFK → SNA86%
  4. JFK → PSP85%
  5. JFK → SAT85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. JFK → RNO60%
  2. JFK → SMF60%
  3. JFK → BDL61%
  4. JFK → BUR61%
  5. JFK → ABQ65%

What causes delays at JFK

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft34%
  • Airline operations34%
  • National airspace system28%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near New York

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
LGA — LaGuardia Airport11 mi79%18 min
EWR — Newark Liberty International Airport21 mi79%18 min
HPN — Westchester County Airport30 mi79%20 min
ISP — Long Island MacArthur Airport37 mi76%19 min
TTN — Trenton Mercer Airport60 mi78%21 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at JFK

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Endeavor Air85%13 min8,328
American Airlines83%18 min30,492
Republic Airways83%14 min33,910
Delta Air Lines81%16 min63,660
SkyWest Airlines81%21 min2,184
Alaska Airlines80%15 min8,098
Frontier Airlines76%22 min4,687
Hawaiian Airlines74%19 min553
JetBlue Airways73%21 min74,692

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at JFK?
21% of departures from John F. Kennedy International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 17 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from JFK?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 91% of the time at JFK, versus 66% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at JFK?
In this dataset, July 2026 was the weakest month at JFK, with 67% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at JFK?
2.7% of scheduled departures from JFK were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 226,604 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.