Route profile
FLL→IAH
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Houston, 966 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 36% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 8,129 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → IAH arrives on time 76.6% of the time; the return trip, IAH → FLL, arrives on time 76.7% of the time.
FLL → IAH spends 28.0 minutes on the ground on a 966-mile trip: 18.1 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 9.9 minutes from touchdown to gate at IAH.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What sets this route apart
Where FLL to IAH differs most from similar routes by hour, weekday, month and airline, July 2023 – July 2026.
FLL to IAH struggles most at 12 PM: 65.0% of its flights scheduled then arrive on time, 13.8 points behind the 78.8% on routes of similar length at the same hour. Against all other routes the gap is 14.4 points.
FLL to IAH is at its best against routes of similar length for flights scheduled at 11 AM: 89.0% arrive on time, 8.6 points ahead of the 80.4% those routes manage at that hour. Against all other routes the gap is 8 points.
Sunday is the day FLL to IAH slips furthest against routes of similar length, 70.4% on time where they average 73.9%, 3.5 points lower. Against all other routes the gap is 4.4 points.
In August, FLL to IAH runs 5.3 points below routes of similar length, 69.4% on time to 74.7%. Against all other routes the gap is 7.1 points.
Spirit Airlines’ flights on FLL to IAH arrive on time 67.5% of the time, 7.1 points below the 74.6% it manages on its routes of similar length. Against all other routes the gap is 7.8 points.
FLL to IAH against comparable routes
July 2023 – July 2026| Measure | This route | Compared with | Them | Gap | Flights behind it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hour: 12 PM departures | 65.0% | routes of similar length | 78.8% | −13.8 pts | 200 here, 170,195 there |
| Hour: 11 AM departures | 89.0% | routes of similar length | 80.4% | +8.6 pts | 365 here, 199,212 there |
| Weekday: Sunday | 70.4% | routes of similar length | 73.9% | −3.5 pts | 1,184 here, 446,476 there |
| Month: August | 69.4% | routes of similar length | 74.7% | −5.3 pts | 566 here, 241,343 there |
| Airline: Spirit Airlines | 67.5% | routes of similar length | 74.6% | −7.1 pts | 3,084 here, 161,398 there |
Each comparison pools the flights of other routes, with this route’s own left out. Similar length means within 15% of this route’s 966 miles, with at least 5 such routes. A bucket is set against the most comparable group that has enough flights: similar length, then the same origin (at least 3 routes), then all other routes. Hours, weekdays and months appear only where both sides have 120 completed flights, and airlines where both have 600. The gap must be at least 2 points and 2 standard errors, and only the largest gap each way is kept per measure. These are differences in the flights counted, not causes.
Why FLL → IAH flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
FLL → IAH cancelled 109 of 8,129 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 75. The reason filed most often was extreme weather, 59.6% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 125 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 109 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
65 cancellations, 59.6% of the total.
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
26 cancellations, 23.9% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
18 cancellations, 16.5% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. With only one or two carriers on the route, the split mostly reflects how they file. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
109 coded cancellations were recorded on FLL → IAH; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
52 min late
against a median of 7 min early
Percentiles over 8,129 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at IAH after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 38% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 23% | High risk |
| 60 min | 16% | High risk |
| 90 min | 8.6% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 5.2% | Some risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.34% of the time and diverts 0.22% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 8,002 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 52 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 8,129 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → IAH flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 88.7% of the time, against 63.3% for 9 PM–5 AM departures, a gap of 25.4 percentage points.
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 5 AM: too few flights to score
- 6 AM: 94.0% on time from 1,147 flights
- 7 AM: 86.6% on time from 497 flights
- 8 AM: 81.0% on time from 662 flights
- 9 AM: 83.3% on time from 360 flights
- 10 AM: too few flights to score
- 11 AM: 89.0% on time from 367 flights
- 12 PM: 65.0% on time from 203 flights
- 1 PM: 81.7% on time from 1,057 flights
- 2 PM: 66.3% on time from 338 flights
- 3 PM: 73.7% on time from 352 flights
- 4 PM: 64.6% on time from 823 flights
- 5 PM: 69.1% on time from 599 flights
- 6 PM: 73.3% on time from 443 flights
- 7 PM: 64.4% on time from 224 flights
- 8 PM: 59.9% on time from 326 flights
- 9 PM: 65.4% on time from 326 flights
- 10 PM: 62.3% on time from 387 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why FLL → IAH runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for FLL → IAH. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 4,789 | 83.5% | 1.15% | -10 min | 7.0% |
| Spirit Airlines | 3,137 | 67.5% | 1.50% | 0 min | 11.0% |
United Airlines flew 60.4% of the 7,926 flights listed.
United Airlines arrived on time 16.0 percentage points more often than Spirit Airlines on this route.
Other ways to fly Miami to Houston
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MIA→IAH Miami to Houston | 10,858 | 73.7% | 1.75% | -5 min | 51 |
| FLL→IAH this route Fort Lauderdale to Houston | 8,129 | 76.6% | 1.34% | -7 min | 61 |
FLL → IAH is the most reliable pairing for this journey at 76.6% on time, against 73.7% for MIA → IAH.
Flying to IAH from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for IAH, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Tuesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 12.4 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 72.9%
- Feb: 83.9%
- Mar: 73.1%
- Apr: 80.0%
- May: 73.4%
- Jun: 73.3%
- Jul: 67.0%
- Aug: 69.4%
- Sep: 79.3%
- Oct: 86.2%
- Nov: 84.6%
- Dec: 77.2%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 19.2 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 56.0% from 178 flights
- August 2023: 64.0% from 180 flights
- September 2023: 72.4% from 171 flights
- October 2023: 77.8% from 189 flights
- November 2023: 75.2% from 210 flights
- December 2023: 71.1% from 232 flights
- January 2024: 61.3% from 246 flights
- February 2024: 82.6% from 213 flights
- March 2024: 66.3% from 252 flights
- April 2024: 77.0% from 202 flights
- May 2024: 62.6% from 213 flights
- June 2024: 67.3% from 207 flights
- July 2024: 57.7% from 211 flights
- August 2024: 66.2% from 203 flights
- September 2024: 79.6% from 193 flights
- October 2024: 88.8% from 226 flights
- November 2024: 91.3% from 208 flights
- December 2024: 77.3% from 245 flights
- January 2025: 70.3% from 238 flights
- February 2025: 81.6% from 196 flights
- March 2025: 80.8% from 248 flights
- April 2025: 86.7% from 226 flights
- May 2025: 79.0% from 221 flights
- June 2025: 75.5% from 210 flights
- July 2025: 80.8% from 195 flights
- August 2025: 77.7% from 194 flights
- September 2025: 85.1% from 195 flights
- October 2025: 89.9% from 267 flights
- November 2025: 86.8% from 264 flights
- December 2025: 82.3% from 279 flights
- January 2026: 85.4% from 271 flights
- February 2026: 86.8% from 245 flights
- March 2026: 72.3% from 294 flights
- April 2026: 76.4% from 262 flights
- May 2026: 79.6% from 160 flights
- June 2026: 79.1% from 129 flights
- July 2026: 71.2% from 256 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 81.1% against 79.8% in the 12 months before — broadly unchanged.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 8,129 FLL → IAH flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed