FlightRecord

Pensacola International Airport (PNS): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Pensacola International Airport (PNS) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 90% on-time in November 2024 but sank to 69% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 80% against a national 78%, over roughly 38 departures a day to 23 destinations.

Departures on-time
80%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
19 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
2.1%
Destinations
23
nonstop
Airlines
11

Plan your departure from PNS

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
92% on-time
Best day to fly
Wednesday
84% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
88% on-time from PNS
Cancellation risk
2.1%
above the US average
Check routes from PNS ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at PNS50%75%100%August 2024: 82% on-time (1,173 flights)82Aug 2024September 2024: 88% on-time (1,096 flights)88October 2024: 89% on-time (1,077 flights)89November 2024: 90% on-time (966 flights)90Nov 2024December 2024: 79% on-time (1,004 flights)79January 2025: 84% on-time (902 flights)84February 2025: 84% on-time (845 flights)84Feb 2025March 2025: 82% on-time (1,157 flights)82April 2025: 83% on-time (1,154 flights)83May 2025: 77% on-time (1,329 flights)77May 2025June 2025: 76% on-time (1,445 flights)76July 2025: 80% on-time (1,498 flights)80August 2025: 79% on-time (1,287 flights)79Aug 2025September 2025: 88% on-time (1,091 flights)88October 2025: 85% on-time (1,164 flights)85November 2025: 81% on-time (1,021 flights)81Nov 2025December 2025: 75% on-time (991 flights)75January 2026: 81% on-time (924 flights)81February 2026: 86% on-time (933 flights)86Feb 2026March 2026: 79% on-time (1,263 flights)79April 2026: 82% on-time (1,282 flights)82May 2026: 76% on-time (1,320 flights)76May 2026June 2026: 74% on-time (1,307 flights)74July 2026: 69% on-time (1,358 flights)69

Best time of day to depart from PNS

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at PNS5 a.m.: 92% on-time (836 flights)56 a.m.: 90% on-time (3,303 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (3,059 flights)78 a.m.: 89% on-time (1,081 flights)89 a.m.: 89% on-time (1,767 flights)910 a.m.: 84% on-time (1,646 flights)1011 a.m.: 81% on-time (2,527 flights)1112 p.m.: 80% on-time (1,451 flights)121 p.m.: 79% on-time (1,560 flights)132 p.m.: 79% on-time (1,906 flights)143 p.m.: 69% on-time (2,368 flights)154 p.m.: 72% on-time (2,148 flights)165 p.m.: 69% on-time (2,102 flights)176 p.m.: 70% on-time (1,140 flights)187 p.m.: 74% on-time (1,880 flights)198 p.m.: 65% on-time (179 flights)20scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%18 min
Tuesday83%17 min
Wednesdaybest84%15 min
Thursday80%19 min
Friday79%20 min
Saturday79%19 min
Sunday78%25 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from PNS ↓

Busiest routes from PNS

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
PNS → ATL (Atlanta)2,81289%10 min
PNS → CLT (Charlotte)1,88780%24 min
PNS → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,72368%34 min
PNS → MIA (Miami)1,21082%11 min
PNS → DCA (Washington)1,07373%37 min
PNS → BNA (Nashville)95884%10 min
PNS → ORD (Chicago)72779%24 min
PNS → DEN (Denver)62968%24 min
PNS → IAH (Houston)56586%16 min
PNS → DAL (Dallas)49084%11 min
PNS → HOU (Houston)34887%8 min
PNS → MCO (Orlando)28283%16 min
PNS → PHL (Philadelphia)26577%23 min
PNS → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)23972%17 min
PNS → STL (St. Louis)21686%11 min
PNS → MCI (Kansas City)19080%11 min
PNS → AUS (Austin)12477%13 min
PNS → MDW (Chicago)12481%13 min

Compare airlines departing PNS ↓

Where flights into PNS come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → PNS2,81281%12 min
CLT (Charlotte) → PNS1,88674%20 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → PNS1,72367%28 min
MIA (Miami) → PNS1,21084%9 min
DCA (Washington) → PNS1,07467%28 min
BNA (Nashville) → PNS95781%11 min
ORD (Chicago) → PNS72782%13 min
DEN (Denver) → PNS62974%15 min

Most reliable routes

  1. PNS → ATL89%
  2. PNS → HOU87%
  3. PNS → STL86%
  4. PNS → IAH86%
  5. PNS → DAL84%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. PNS → DEN68%
  2. PNS → DFW68%
  3. PNS → FLL72%
  4. PNS → DCA73%
  5. PNS → AUS77%

What causes delays at PNS

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft47%
  • Airline operations31%
  • National airspace system15%
  • Weather7%

Alternative airports near Pensacola

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
GUF — Jack Edwards National Airport32 mi72%36 min
VPS — Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport40 mi79%19 min
MOB — Mobile Regional Airport65 mi82%17 min
ECP — Northwest Florida Beaches International Airport83 mi79%17 min
GPT — Gulfport Biloxi International Airport112 mi85%16 min

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

Airline performance at PNS

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines88%10 min5,836
United Airlines84%16 min1,846
Envoy Air83%13 min3,695
Southwest Airlines81%12 min5,348
Republic Airways78%29 min345
Spirit Airlines77%18 min1,589
SkyWest Airlines77%31 min377
PSA Airlines75%31 min5,528
American Airlines72%32 min3,761
Frontier Airlines70%24 min600

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at PNS?
20% of departures from Pensacola International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 19 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from PNS?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 92% of the time at PNS, versus 65% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at PNS?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at PNS, with 69% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at PNS?
2.1% of scheduled departures from PNS were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 29,010 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.