FlightRecord

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Palm Beach International Airport (PBI) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 68% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 75% against a national 78%, over roughly 86 departures a day to 36 destinations.

Departures on-time
75%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
22 min
Arrivals on-time
73%
Cancelled
2.1%
Destinations
36
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from PBI

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
97% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
80% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Southwest Airlines
78% on-time from PBI
Cancellation risk
2.1%
above the US average
Check routes from PBI ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at PBI50%75%100%June 2024: 75% on-time (2,013 flights)75Jun 2024July 2024: 70% on-time (2,057 flights)70August 2024: 70% on-time (1,943 flights)70September 2024: 84% on-time (1,788 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (2,123 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (2,530 flights)85December 2024: 70% on-time (2,966 flights)70Dec 2024January 2025: 73% on-time (2,945 flights)73February 2025: 71% on-time (2,853 flights)71March 2025: 73% on-time (3,436 flights)73Mar 2025April 2025: 79% on-time (3,003 flights)79May 2025: 71% on-time (2,402 flights)71June 2025: 69% on-time (2,018 flights)69Jun 2025July 2025: 72% on-time (2,056 flights)72August 2025: 75% on-time (2,008 flights)75September 2025: 81% on-time (1,818 flights)81Sep 2025October 2025: 78% on-time (2,268 flights)78November 2025: 75% on-time (2,792 flights)75December 2025: 68% on-time (3,186 flights)68Dec 2025January 2026: 73% on-time (3,108 flights)73February 2026: 74% on-time (2,973 flights)74March 2026: 69% on-time (3,385 flights)69Mar 2026April 2026: 75% on-time (3,067 flights)75May 2026: 81% on-time (2,545 flights)81

Best time of day to depart from PBI

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at PBI5 a.m.: 97% on-time (150 flights)56 a.m.: 94% on-time (4,919 flights)67 a.m.: 94% on-time (4,977 flights)78 a.m.: 93% on-time (2,295 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (2,425 flights)910 a.m.: 84% on-time (4,454 flights)1011 a.m.: 78% on-time (5,600 flights)1112 p.m.: 75% on-time (5,382 flights)121 p.m.: 69% on-time (3,523 flights)132 p.m.: 67% on-time (3,669 flights)143 p.m.: 65% on-time (3,775 flights)154 p.m.: 66% on-time (3,679 flights)165 p.m.: 64% on-time (3,883 flights)176 p.m.: 62% on-time (4,219 flights)187 p.m.: 59% on-time (5,486 flights)198 p.m.: 63% on-time (2,211 flights)209 p.m.: 63% on-time (541 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday73%24 min
Tuesdaybest80%16 min
Wednesday79%17 min
Thursday70%25 min
Friday74%21 min
Saturday80%18 min
Sunday69%28 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from PBI ↓

Busiest routes from PBI

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
PBI → ATL (Atlanta)3,85582%13 min
PBI → EWR (Newark)3,58472%27 min
PBI → LGA (New York)3,16471%24 min
PBI → JFK (New York)2,20173%24 min
PBI → BOS (Boston)2,19670%25 min
PBI → CLT (Charlotte)1,82782%15 min
PBI → DCA (Washington)1,78472%26 min
PBI → HPN (White Plains)1,63875%20 min
PBI → PHL (Philadelphia)1,53774%29 min
PBI → ISP (Islip)1,24674%19 min
PBI → ORD (Chicago)1,24368%29 min
PBI → BWI (Baltimore)1,23482%13 min
PBI → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,14372%26 min
PBI → MCO (Orlando)54384%11 min
PBI → BDL (Hartford)51580%16 min
PBI → DTW (Detroit)47573%21 min
PBI → IAH (Houston)43180%17 min
PBI → PVD (Providence)42378%17 min
PBI → ACY (Atlantic City)37182%15 min
PBI → BNA (Nashville)36571%17 min
PBI → IAD (Washington)33385%11 min
PBI → DEN (Denver)27276%22 min
PBI → LAX (Los Angeles)18580%18 min
PBI → AVL (Asheville)16676%23 min
PBI → PIT (Pittsburgh)13969%22 min
PBI → MSP (Minneapolis)12769%22 min

Compare airlines departing PBI ↓

Where flights into PBI come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → PBI3,85574%16 min
EWR (Newark) → PBI3,58376%18 min
LGA (New York) → PBI3,16470%24 min
JFK (New York) → PBI2,19872%21 min
BOS (Boston) → PBI2,19867%24 min
CLT (Charlotte) → PBI1,82676%16 min
DCA (Washington) → PBI1,78375%19 min
HPN (White Plains) → PBI1,63875%21 min

Most reliable routes

  1. PBI → IAD85%
  2. PBI → MCO84%
  3. PBI → CLT82%
  4. PBI → ATL82%
  5. PBI → BWI82%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. PBI → ORD68%
  2. PBI → MSP69%
  3. PBI → PIT69%
  4. PBI → BOS70%
  5. PBI → BNA71%

What causes delays at PBI

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft48%
  • Airline operations26%
  • National airspace system23%
  • Weather3%

Alternative airports near West Palm Beach/Palm Beach

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
FLL — Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport42 mi73%20 min
MIA — Miami International Airport62 mi74%20 min
RSW — Southwest Florida International Airport103 mi80%18 min
MLB — Melbourne Orlando International Airport104 mi83%15 min
PGD — Punta Gorda Airport118 mi79%16 min

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

Airline performance at PBI

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Southwest Airlines78%15 min5,262
Spirit Airlines77%17 min860
Republic Airways76%22 min308
Delta Air Lines76%19 min14,426
American Airlines75%24 min12,644
United Airlines75%25 min7,705
JetBlue Airways73%22 min17,925
Allegiant Air72%23 min873
Frontier Airlines60%39 min1,233

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at PBI?
25% of departures from Palm Beach International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 22 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from PBI?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 97% of the time at PBI, versus 59% around 7 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at PBI?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at PBI, with 68% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at PBI?
2.1% of scheduled departures from PBI were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 61,283 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.