FlightRecord

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in January 2025 but sank to 70% in June 2026. Across the year it averages 79% against a national 78%, over roughly 541 departures a day to 121 destinations.

Departures on-time
79%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 min
Arrivals on-time
81%
Cancelled
0.7%
Destinations
121
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from PHX

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
95% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
83% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Hawaiian Airlines
89% on-time from PHX
Cancellation risk
0.7%
below the US average
Check routes from PHX ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at PHX50%75%100%August 2024: 80% on-time (15,416 flights)80Aug 2024September 2024: 85% on-time (15,081 flights)85October 2024: 84% on-time (16,978 flights)84November 2024: 84% on-time (16,827 flights)84Nov 2024December 2024: 81% on-time (17,342 flights)81January 2025: 86% on-time (15,956 flights)86February 2025: 84% on-time (15,458 flights)84Feb 2025March 2025: 79% on-time (19,262 flights)79April 2025: 81% on-time (18,188 flights)81May 2025: 79% on-time (17,223 flights)79May 2025June 2025: 74% on-time (15,592 flights)74July 2025: 74% on-time (15,729 flights)74August 2025: 80% on-time (14,380 flights)80Aug 2025September 2025: 81% on-time (13,772 flights)81October 2025: 77% on-time (16,620 flights)77November 2025: 77% on-time (16,887 flights)77Nov 2025December 2025: 76% on-time (17,689 flights)76January 2026: 80% on-time (16,564 flights)80February 2026: 81% on-time (15,656 flights)81Feb 2026March 2026: 77% on-time (19,277 flights)77April 2026: 78% on-time (17,679 flights)78May 2026: 75% on-time (17,337 flights)75May 2026June 2026: 70% on-time (15,685 flights)70July 2026: 70% on-time (16,096 flights)70

Best time of day to depart from PHX

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at PHX5 a.m.: 95% on-time (8,471 flights)56 a.m.: 95% on-time (17,017 flights)67 a.m.: 91% on-time (24,816 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (36,203 flights)89 a.m.: 85% on-time (27,936 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (31,196 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (24,799 flights)1112 p.m.: 79% on-time (21,867 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (24,124 flights)132 p.m.: 74% on-time (20,674 flights)143 p.m.: 72% on-time (25,412 flights)154 p.m.: 71% on-time (28,886 flights)165 p.m.: 72% on-time (22,833 flights)176 p.m.: 67% on-time (20,729 flights)187 p.m.: 69% on-time (20,663 flights)198 p.m.: 70% on-time (22,002 flights)209 p.m.: 70% on-time (13,174 flights)2110 p.m.: 72% on-time (10,102 flights)2211 p.m.: 81% on-time (9,057 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday79%15 min
Tuesdaybest83%11 min
Wednesday82%11 min
Thursday78%14 min
Friday78%16 min
Saturday82%12 min
Sunday77%16 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from PHX ↓

Busiest routes from PHX

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
PHX → DEN (Denver)8,94478%15 min
PHX → LAX (Los Angeles)7,60684%11 min
PHX → SEA (Seattle)7,22682%11 min
PHX → LAS (Las Vegas)6,01579%15 min
PHX → SAN (San Diego)6,00275%16 min
PHX → SLC (Salt Lake City)5,77384%11 min
PHX → ORD (Chicago)5,58779%17 min
PHX → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)5,22580%16 min
PHX → SFO (San Francisco)4,69272%19 min
PHX → SNA (Santa Ana)4,63881%12 min
PHX → PDX (Portland)3,74880%13 min
PHX → ATL (Atlanta)3,73482%14 min
PHX → SMF (Sacramento)3,62281%11 min
PHX → TUS (Tucson)3,46383%12 min
PHX → AUS (Austin)3,35178%14 min
PHX → ABQ (Albuquerque)3,29881%12 min
PHX → BUR (Burbank)3,14780%12 min
PHX → JFK (New York)3,03379%18 min
PHX → ONT (Ontario)3,02779%13 min
PHX → MSP (Minneapolis)3,02084%12 min
PHX → SJC (San Jose)2,98781%12 min
PHX → IAH (Houston)2,95782%14 min
PHX → DAL (Dallas)2,88978%12 min
PHX → CLT (Charlotte)2,88186%10 min
PHX → MDW (Chicago)2,75776%13 min
PHX → SAT (San Antonio)2,52279%15 min
PHX → ELP (El Paso)2,48880%13 min
PHX → EWR (Newark)2,48076%19 min
PHX → MCI (Kansas City)2,47279%13 min
PHX → RNO (Reno)2,44481%12 min
PHX → DTW (Detroit)2,39782%15 min
PHX → BNA (Nashville)2,36776%14 min
PHX → PHL (Philadelphia)2,32484%11 min
PHX → STL (St. Louis)2,31679%12 min
PHX → HOU (Houston)2,11976%13 min
PHX → BOI (Boise)2,01581%12 min
PHX → BOS (Boston)2,01578%17 min
PHX → OMA (Omaha)2,00579%12 min
PHX → OAK (Oakland)1,92578%12 min
PHX → MCO (Orlando)1,85277%14 min
PHX → OKC (Oklahoma City)1,83778%15 min
PHX → MIA (Miami)1,83281%13 min
PHX → IND (Indianapolis)1,52976%16 min
PHX → LGB (Long Beach)1,52082%9 min
PHX → FAT (Fresno)1,47580%17 min
PHX → MKE (Milwaukee)1,45275%14 min
PHX → PSP (Palm Springs)1,44480%14 min
PHX → SBA (Santa Barbara)1,43180%15 min
PHX → MRY (Monterey)1,37380%14 min
PHX → YUM (Yuma)1,32785%12 min

Compare airlines departing PHX ↓

Where flights into PHX come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
DEN (Denver) → PHX8,97376%16 min
LAX (Los Angeles) → PHX7,62983%13 min
SEA (Seattle) → PHX7,22579%13 min
LAS (Las Vegas) → PHX6,01880%14 min
SAN (San Diego) → PHX5,97676%18 min
SLC (Salt Lake City) → PHX5,77584%12 min
ORD (Chicago) → PHX5,58677%19 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → PHX5,23072%21 min

Most reliable routes

  1. PHX → BIL89%
  2. PHX → PAE87%
  3. PHX → CLT86%
  4. PHX → PSC86%
  5. PHX → FAR86%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. PHX → ASE58%
  2. PHX → EGE65%
  3. PHX → SCK71%
  4. PHX → MSY71%
  5. PHX → FLL72%

What causes delays at PHX

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft44%
  • Airline operations38%
  • National airspace system15%
  • Weather3%

Alternative airports near Phoenix

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
AZA — Mesa Gateway Airport22 mi83%12 min
PRC — Prescott Regional Airport - Ernest A. Love Field87 mi81%28 min
TUS — Tucson International Airport110 mi84%13 min
FLG — Flagstaff Pulliam Airport119 mi81%23 min

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

Airline performance at PHX

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Hawaiian Airlines89%14 min549
Envoy Air87%8 min21,305
Delta Air Lines86%13 min21,970
United Airlines85%13 min21,676
Alaska Airlines84%9 min11,276
SkyWest Airlines82%14 min57,090
Frontier Airlines80%17 min16,905
American Airlines80%16 min116,200
Spirit Airlines77%20 min878
Allegiant Air75%28 min776
Southwest Airlines72%15 min141,396
JetBlue Airways71%26 min2,406

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at PHX?
21% of departures from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 15 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from PHX?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 95% of the time at PHX, versus 67% around 6 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at PHX?
In this dataset, June 2026 was the weakest month at PHX, with 70% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at PHX?
0.7% of scheduled departures from PHX were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 412,427 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.