HOU Airport: 78.8% on time, worst at 10 PM

HOU right now

Live conditions where a permitted source publishes them, and the historical record where none does.

No disruption reported

Aviation weather is not currently a factor.

Aviation weatherVFR

57°F · wind 6 kt

Minimal operational impact. Conditions are not a notable factor for operations right now.

Updated 08:53 UTC

Forecast issued 08:57Z.

Updated 08:57 UTC

Aircraft seen now

On the field0

Airborne within 15 NM0

Departed in the last hour0

Arrived in the last hour0

Below 10,000 ft, so aircraft overflying at cruise are not counted. These are observations, not an operational status: a count is a floor, since receiver coverage varies and a movement between two samples can be missed.

Updated 09:06 UTC

Aircraft observations from ADSB.lol (opens in a new tab) (Katia Esposito and contributing feeders), under the ODbL 1.0 (opens in a new tab). Derived data.

FlyerIntel shows live values only where a permitted source provides them. Sections without data are left empty rather than estimated.

Airport reliability

Departures from HOU, July 2023 – July 2026.

Airport Reliability Score

70/ 100Good

Better than 71% of major US airports covered by FlyerIntel (64 compared)

Calculated from 172,224 flights. How this is calculated

Departures arriving on time

78.8%

134,100 of 170,071 completed

Cancellation rate

1.05%

1,804 cancelled

Median arrival delay

-5 min

Average 5.9 min

Severe delays

6.0%

Arrived 60+ minutes late

Delay when late

57 min

Average, when 15+ min late

Departures analyzed

172,224

172,208 arrivals

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026

Why flights are cancelled at HOU

Every cancellation carries a reason code filed by the airline that operated the flight. Departures, July 2023 – July 2026.

Extreme weather accounts for 68.5% of cancelled departures from HOU — about 1 in every 139 scheduled departures. That is 9 points higher than the 59.5% recorded across every airport FlyerIntel covers.

Share of cancellations

Weather68.5%

Airline18.1%

Air traffic13.4%

Security0.0%

Of 1,804 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.

What each reason means

Extreme weather1 in 139

Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.

1,236 cancellations, 68.5% of the total.

The airline1 in 528

Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.

326 cancellations, 18.1% of the total.

The air traffic system1 in 712

Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.

242 cancellations, 13.4% of the total.

Security—

A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.

0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.

1,804 of 172,224 scheduled departures from HOU were cancelled. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026 · Reason codes are each airline’s own filing, not an independent finding of fault. Shown for airports with at least 500 coded cancellations; 1,804 were recorded at HOU.

Why flights run late at HOU

Where US DOT attributed the delay minutes on departures from HOU.

Late-arriving aircraft46.4%

the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late

The airline30.7%

crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control

Air traffic control17.1%

airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control

Weather5.5%

weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically

Security0.4%

screening or terminal security incidents

Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for departures from HOU. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.

Of the 36,396 departures from HOU that left 15 or more minutes late and have a known inbound aircraft, 55% followed a flight that landed 15 or more minutes late. The other 45% left late even though the aircraft had come in on time or early. Across the 64 covered airports that share runs from 47% to 73%, with a median of 62%; HOU’s is the 18th lowest.

The late flight is the one the same aircraft flew into HOU just before, found from the tail number in the DOT file. Airlines and hours differ from one airport to the next, so this describes the departures from HOU and does not rate the airport.

An airport is only partly the author of its own delays. Late-arriving aircraft describes the national schedule arriving here more than anything about this airfield. Air traffic control covers airspace and airport capacity, which is where a congested airport shows up; only the airline category sits squarely inside the carriers’ own operation. How differently they run it is further down this page.

Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026

What weather costs at HOU

Departures from HOU by the weather at the airport in the hour they were scheduled to leave, July 2023 – July 2026.

7.8% of scheduled departures from HOU left in an hour of bad weather. 2.9% of them were cancelled, against 0.8% in normal conditions, and 69.5% of the ones that flew arrived on time, against 79.6%. Those hours held 21% of all cancelled departures. That is about 274 more cancellations than the normal-conditions rate would give.

Cancellations were highest in high wind hours: 7.2% of 1,988 departures, 8.5 times the normal rate.

Airlines filed 69% of HOU’s coded cancellations under extreme weather. By the weather at the airport in the scheduled hour, 21% of cancelled departures were in bad-weather hours. A code is the airline’s stated reason and an hour’s weather is what the airport reported, so the two need not match.

By weather

Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026

Cancellation and on-time rates at HOU by the weather at the airport in the scheduled departure hour
Weather at the airport	Departures	Cancelled	Left on time	Arrived on time	Avg. departure delay
Normal conditionsVFR with no thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind	137,17579.7% of all	0.8%	76.0%	79.6%	11.6 min
Any bad weatherIFR or LIFR, or a thunderstorm, snow or ice, fog, heavy rain or high wind	13,3637.8% of all	2.9%3.4 times normal	68.9%	69.5%10.1 points below normal	22.8 min
MVFRceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet or visibility 3 to 5 miles	22,62213.1% of all	1.4%1.7 times normal	76.1%	78.4%1.2 points below normal	13.0 min
IFRceiling 500 to 999 feet or visibility 1 to under 3 miles	6,6633.9% of all	2.9%3.4 times normal	70.9%	73.2%6.4 points below normal	19.3 min
LIFRceiling under 500 feet or visibility under 1 mile	3,1791.8% of all	2.0%2.3 times normal	79.8%	78.7%	16.7 min
Thunderstorma thunderstorm reported at the airport	2,8651.7% of all	3.2%3.8 times normal	40.1%	38.0%41.6 points below normal	58.7 min
Snow or icesnow, snow grains, ice pellets, freezing rain or freezing drizzle	1310.1% of all	48.9%57.6 times normal	25.4%	17.9%61.7 points below normal	63.8 min
Fogfog or freezing fog reported at the airport	1,0950.6% of all	3.4%4.0 times normal	76.9%	73.1%6.5 points below normal	26.6 min
Heavy rainheavy rain reported at the airport	1,7491.0% of all	4.6%5.5 times normal	44.5%	39.5%40.1 points below normal	56.5 min
High windwind of 25 knots or more, or gusts of 30 knots or more	1,9881.2% of all	7.2%8.5 times normal	59.1%	57.2%22.4 points below normal	38.4 min
Low ceilinga broken or overcast layer under 1,000 feet	8,2304.8% of all	1.8%2.2 times normal	78.1%	80.3%	12.8 min
Low visibilityvisibility under 3 miles	4,0652.4% of all	3.7%4.4 times normal	66.9%	65.2%14.4 points below normal	30.3 min

A departure is counted in every row its hour fits, so the rows overlap and do not add up. Left on time is a departure under 15 minutes late, and arrived on time an arrival under 15 minutes late; cancelled is the share of scheduled departures. Rows with fewer than 120 departures are not scored.

This is the weather reported at HOU in the hour a flight was scheduled to leave. It leaves out the weather at the destination and on the way, weather that arrived after the scheduled time, and anything else that goes wrong in a bad hour. An hour takes the worst conditions any report in it gave. Weather was matched to 99.9% of the airport’s scheduled departures; the rest left in hours with no report, or at a scheduled time the flight records cannot place exactly. Bad-weather hours are compared with normal hours at the same airport, not with what the same flights would have done in a clear sky: they also fall more often in some seasons and at some times of day.

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records and Iowa Environmental Mesonet weather reports · July 2023 – July 2026 · Where the weather comes from, and its limits. All covered airports side by side: What Weather Costs Each Airport.

Turning aircraft around at HOU

Time on the ground between one flight and the next of the same aircraft at HOU, and what a late arrival does to the next departure, July 2023 – July 2026.

The median turn at HOU is scheduled for 50 minutes on the ground and takes 57 minutes, against 56 minutes and 63 minutes across all airports. Aircraft are given less time on the ground here than at the typical airport. The 7 minutes by which the typical turn runs over its schedule are about what it is across all airports.

When the aircraft landed 15 or more minutes late (25,360 turns here, 49 minutes late on average), 60% of the turns were finished in no more than the scheduled ground time, against 68% across all airports. 77% of those flights left 15 or more minutes late, against 72%. After an aircraft that landed on time, 14% did (all airports 11%).

Given the turn lengths scheduled here, the network’s rates would give 63% finished in the schedule and 77% leaving late. HOU finishes fewer late turns in the schedule than the network would, but lateness is passed on about as often. 43% of its late-inbound turns had a scheduled turn of 45 to 59 minutes, against 31% across all airports.

Turns at HOU against all airports

134,306 turns, July 2023 – July 2026

Aircraft turns at HOU against all airports: scheduled and actual time on the ground and what a late inbound aircraft does
Measure	HOU	All airports	All airports, same turn lengths
Median scheduled turn	50 min	56 min	—
Median actual turn	57 min	63 min	—
Turns that began with an aircraft 15+ minutes late	19%	19%	—
Late turns finished within the schedule	60%	68%	63%
Late inbound that left 15+ minutes late	77%	72%	77%
On-time inbound that left 15+ minutes late	14%	11%	—

The last column is the network’s rate at the turn lengths scheduled at HOU, band by band from under 30 minutes to 3 to 6 hours. A turn finishes within the schedule when the aircraft spent no more time on the ground than the schedule gave it.

A turn pairs an aircraft’s landing at HOU with its next departure from it by tail number; the aircraft is never named. These 134,306 turns are 78% of the flights that left HOU in the period; the rest are an aircraft’s first flight after a long stay, flights without a usable inbound, and cancelled flights. Ground time runs from the gate. Turns under 30 minutes are kept, but most leave late even after an on-time landing. Airlines set their own turn schedules, so this describes the airlines that fly at HOU and does not rate the airport.

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS flight records · July 2023 – July 2026 · Airports side by side: Where a Late Aircraft Gets Its Time Back.

What sets HOU apart

Where HOU’s hours, months, airlines and taxi time differ most from the other airports, July 2023 – July 2026.

Flights scheduled to leave HOU at 9 AM arrive on time 89.4% of the time, 5 points better than the 84.4% for that hour at the other airports.

10 PM is where HOU falls furthest behind the rest: 65.0% of its 10 PM departures arrive on time, 7 points below the 72.0% for that hour elsewhere.

August treats HOU better than it treats the rest of the country: 82.6% on time against 76.7% elsewhere, 5.9 points ahead.

June is HOU’s hardest month against the field, 68.3% on time to 72.9% elsewhere, 4.6 points short.

Delta Air Lines does better out of HOU than anywhere else it flies: 84.4% on time here, 82.1% on its other departures, 2.3 points apart.

SkyWest Airlines’ departures from HOU arrive on time 73.1% of the time, 7.3 points worse than the 80.4% the same airline manages at its other airports.

Taxi-out at HOU averages 12.7 minutes, 6.1 minutes less than the 18.8 minutes elsewhere.

HOU against the other airports

July 2023 – July 2026

Where HOU differs most from the other covered airports, with the flights behind each figure
Measure	HOU	Elsewhere	Gap	Flights behind it
Hour: 9 AM departures	89.4%	84.4%	+5.0 pts	7,275 here, 1,052,772 elsewhere
Hour: 10 PM departures	65.0%	72.0%	−7.0 pts	7,018 here, 472,782 elsewhere
Month: August	82.6%	76.7%	+5.9 pts	13,934 here, 1,459,901 elsewhere
Month: June	68.3%	72.9%	−4.6 pts	14,344 here, 1,457,533 elsewhere
Airline: Delta Air Lines	84.4%	82.1%	+2.3 pts	4,549 here, 3,097,576 elsewhere
Airline: SkyWest Airlines	73.1%	80.4%	−7.3 pts	1,474 here, 2,392,036 elsewhere
Taxi-out: Departures	12.7 min	18.8 min	−6.1 min	170,454 here, 17,459,655 elsewhere

"Elsewhere" is every other covered airport together, taken from the same aggregates as this page with HOU’s own flights removed (for airlines, that airline’s flights from all its other airports). Hours, months and airlines appear only where both sides have at least 120 completed flights (airlines 500) and the gap is at least 2 points and 2 standard errors; only the largest gap in each direction is shown. The taxi figure is weighted by departures and has no error estimate, so it appears from 2 minutes.

Best time to fly from HOU

On-time arrival rate by scheduled local departure time: each weekday and hour, and averaged over the week.

Flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 92.0% of the time, against 68.0% for 9 PM–5 AM departures — a gap of 24.0 percentage points.

By day and hour

On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time.

Wednesday 5–6 AM was the most reliable slot at HOU (95.8% on time, 629 flights) and Sunday 10–11 PM the least (60.6%, 1,983 flights).

Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 9.1 points from the airport-wide rate, weekday averages 2.1 points.

On-time arrival rate at HOU by weekday and scheduled departure hour, local time. Each button reads out one slot.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
5 AM–6 AM
6 AM–7 AM
7 AM–8 AM
8 AM–9 AM
9 AM–10 AM
10 AM–11 AM
11 AM–12 PM
12 PM–1 PM
1 PM–2 PM
2 PM–3 PM
3 PM–4 PM
4 PM–5 PM
5 PM–6 PM
6 PM–7 PM
7 PM–8 PM
8 PM–9 PM
9 PM–10 PM
10 PM–11 PM

On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time

60–69
70–79
80–89
90–99

Most reliable slot
Least reliable slot

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.

Best and worst slots are named only among slots with 500+ flights, and only when the gap is larger than sampling error. Departures before 5 AM and after 11 PM (8 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.

View as tableHide table

On-time arrival rate (%) with flights beneath, by scheduled departure hour and weekday at HOU. A dash means fewer than 120 flights, which are not scored.
Hour	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
5 AM–6 AM	94.0% on time1,147 flights	95.6% on time650 flights	95.8% on time629 flights	94.4% on time1,157 flights	93.6% on time1,189 flights	93.7% on time732 flights	93.7% on time886 flights
6 AM–7 AM	92.9% on time1,268 flights	93.5% on time1,369 flights	93.6% on time1,360 flights	94.0% on time1,245 flights	92.8% on time1,243 flights	92.2% on time1,082 flights	94.2% on time1,337 flights
7 AM–8 AM	89.4% on time1,285 flights	93.8% on time908 flights	94.6% on time878 flights	92.5% on time1,292 flights	90.2% on time1,343 flights	92.2% on time936 flights	91.9% on time1,080 flights
8 AM–9 AM	88.6% on time2,485 flights	91.2% on time2,281 flights	91.0% on time2,277 flights	89.4% on time2,510 flights	90.4% on time2,487 flights	91.8% on time2,324 flights	92.0% on time2,324 flights
9 AM–10 AM	86.2% on time998 flights	90.8% on time1,375 flights	88.7% on time1,374 flights	89.5% on time958 flights	89.9% on time968 flights	88.7% on time695 flights	91.4% on time980 flights
10 AM–11 AM	83.8% on time1,648 flights	85.8% on time1,276 flights	82.9% on time1,276 flights	85.1% on time1,674 flights	86.3% on time1,707 flights	83.6% on time1,761 flights	85.3% on time1,797 flights
11 AM–12 PM	79.1% on time1,170 flights	86.4% on time1,605 flights	81.4% on time1,624 flights	81.9% on time1,203 flights	81.5% on time1,144 flights	81.9% on time1,210 flights	81.5% on time1,227 flights
12 PM–1 PM	79.4% on time1,336 flights	82.7% on time1,152 flights	79.6% on time1,131 flights	78.8% on time1,369 flights	78.2% on time1,310 flights	78.1% on time903 flights	78.0% on time1,341 flights
1 PM–2 PM	77.2% on time1,376 flights	83.8% on time1,309 flights	80.1% on time1,273 flights	77.1% on time1,387 flights	75.8% on time1,382 flights	79.8% on time1,298 flights	75.1% on time1,487 flights
2 PM–3 PM	70.5% on time1,636 flights	75.5% on time1,577 flights	73.3% on time1,576 flights	67.5% on time1,575 flights	68.4% on time1,627 flights	75.4% on time1,428 flights	69.4% on time1,700 flights
3 PM–4 PM	72.2% on time1,262 flights	75.2% on time1,332 flights	76.7% on time1,317 flights	67.6% on time1,267 flights	70.1% on time1,234 flights	71.3% on time1,239 flights	66.8% on time1,440 flights
4 PM–5 PM	75.2% on time1,496 flights	74.5% on time1,371 flights	73.8% on time1,346 flights	69.5% on time1,462 flights	69.2% on time1,495 flights	74.6% on time1,010 flights	66.0% on time1,665 flights
5 PM–6 PM	71.1% on time1,185 flights	76.4% on time943 flights	77.9% on time950 flights	68.8% on time1,188 flights	66.7% on time1,206 flights	74.6% on time1,138 flights	67.0% on time1,196 flights
6 PM–7 PM	73.6% on time1,493 flights	77.7% on time1,638 flights	73.2% on time1,654 flights	68.8% on time1,466 flights	73.3% on time1,486 flights	77.6% on time1,799 flights	67.3% on time1,558 flights
7 PM–8 PM	69.0% on time1,422 flights	69.2% on time1,542 flights	70.7% on time1,550 flights	70.5% on time1,365 flights	69.5% on time1,391 flights	70.3% on time671 flights	66.8% on time1,050 flights
8 PM–9 PM	69.3% on time1,729 flights	81.1% on time1,528 flights	81.2% on time1,593 flights	65.4% on time1,729 flights	68.6% on time1,759 flights	74.6% on time2,084 flights	63.9% on time2,103 flights
9 PM–10 PM	72.1% on time1,476 flights	74.4% on time1,519 flights	74.0% on time1,492 flights	66.9% on time1,382 flights	72.1% on time1,368 flights	62.8% on time784 flights	64.9% on time1,192 flights
10 PM–11 PM	66.1% on time1,250 flights	71.6% on time271 flights	63.7% on time247 flights	67.7% on time1,295 flights	67.9% on time1,405 flights	62.7% on time653 flights	60.6% on time1,983 flights

By departure window

All days combined

5–9 AM92.0%

9 AM–12 PM85.1%

12–3 PM75.9%

3–6 PM71.4%

6–9 PM71.6%

9 PM–5 AM68.0%

By departure hour

All days combined

12 AM

3 AM

6 AM

9 AM

12 PM

3 PM

6 PM

9 PM

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Buckets with fewer than 120 flights are not scored.

What to expect at HOU

How busy the airport is through the day, from scheduled departure volume.

Departures a day

153

Average across the analysis period

Busiest hour

8 AM

About 15 departures

Typical taxi-out

12.7 min

Pushback to wheels-up, on departure

Typical taxi-in

5.8 min

Touchdown to gate, on arrival

Scheduled departures by hour

12 AM

3 AM

6 AM

9 AM

12 PM

3 PM

6 PM

9 PM

The busiest hour is 8 AM, with about 15 departures a day, against roughly 7 at 9 AM. That peak is also more punctual than a typical hour here: early banks fly aircraft that spent the night on the ground rather than ones inheriting the day’s delays.

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Taxi-out runs from gate to wheels-up, averaged over departures and weighted by hour. Taxi-in runs from touchdown to gate.

Weekly and seasonal patterns

By day of week

Mon78.3%

Tue82.3%

Wed80.9%

Thu77.5%

Fri78.1%

Sat80.0%

Sun75.6%

Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 6.7 percentage points.

By month

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

June is historically the weakest month and September the strongest, a spread of 17.0 percentage points.

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026

Airlines at HOU

Departure performance by operating carrier. Regional flights are reported by the carrier that operated them, not by the mainline brand.

Airlines at HOU
Carrier	Departures	On time	Cancelled	Median delay
Southwest Airlines WN	159,275	78.8%	0.91%	-4 min
Delta Air Lines DL	4,629	84.4%	1.49%	-10 min
Envoy Air MQ	4,314	79.5%	3.18%	-6 min
SkyWest Airlines OO	1,536	73.1%	3.71%	-5 min
Allegiant Air G4	969	71.8%	0.72%	-1 min
PSA Airlines OH	909	75.5%	6.27%	-9 min
Frontier Airlines F9	592	72.4%	3.72%	-5 min

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Carriers with fewer than 500 departures are not listed.

Routes from HOU

Ranked by FlyerIntel Route Reliability Score.

Most reliable

DALDallas68

Least reliable

DALDallas68

Busiest routes

Busiest routes from HOU
Destination	Flights	On time	Score
HOU → DAL Dallas	12,672	81.3%	68

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Only routes with at least 10,000 flights are ranked.

See all 2 routes to and from HOU →

Reliability over time

On-time arrival rate for departures, by month.

24

25

26

Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), departures from HOU arrived on time 76.8% of the time, against 81.1% in the 12 months before — declining by 4.3 percentage points.

Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026

Data and sources

Historical statistics

Every historical figure on this page is calculated by FlyerIntel from US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time performance records covering July 2023 – July 2026, comprising 172,224 departures from HOU. A flight counts as delayed when it arrives 15 or more minutes after schedule.

Full methodology · All data sources

Analysis last recomputed September 26, 2026

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William P. Hobby Airport on-time performance, from FlyerIntel

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Live conditions

Aviation weather comes from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center. Operational events come from the FAA where available. FlyerIntel shows the age of every live value and does not display data it cannot currently retrieve.

See something wrong? Report it

Latest observation for HOU: METAR KHOU 180853Z 02006KT 10SM SCT250 14/07 A3034 RMK AO2 SLP279 T01390072 55002 $ (issued 08:53 UTC).