82% of flights leaving Albuquerque (ABQ) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 7 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 5 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 70 flights leave ABQ on a typical day; 0.9% were cancelled. 81% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 5 a.m. (95% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (58%).
- Best month: February (86%). Worst: July (76%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (91%), vs Southwest Airlines at 80%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (42% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (83% → 82%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving ABQ: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 56% of the time. About 1 in 19 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 83 three hours or more; 0.9% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early82%
- 15–30 min late6.1%
- 30–60 min late4.9%
- 1–2 hours late3.1%
- 2–3 hours late1.1%
- 3+ hours late1.2%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled0.9%
Share of all 25,641 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of ABQ
Time of day matters more at ABQ than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 95% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 58%, a 37-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 91% on time against 72% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 4 p.m. departures were cancelled 1.3% of the time, against 0.9% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at ABQ was a 5 a.m. departure in February (97% on time); the least, 8 p.m. in July (52%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at ABQ, with 76% of flights on time across 2023–2026; February is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 7 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Cancellations peak in January (1.9% of flights).
Airlines at ABQ
Southwest Airlines runs 46% of departures from ABQ. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (91% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (80%), a 11-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 11,741 | 80% | 77% | 0.6% | −6 min |
| American Airlines | 4,988 | 81% | 82% | 1.5% | −12 min |
| United Airlines | 4,465 | 83% | 85% | 0.8% | −8 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 3,354 | 91% | 91% | 0.5% | −13 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 928 | 89% | 86% | 0.5% | −10 min |
| JetBlue | 156 | 62% | 54% | 9.0% | −7 min |
Why flights are late at ABQ
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At ABQ, 42% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 33%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 219 cancellations, 60% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 15 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
ABQ vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABQ Albuquerque Sunport | — | 25,641 | 82% | 0.9% |
| SAF Santa Fe | 49 mi | 4,429 | 76% | 1.7% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 82% of ABQ departures were on time, against 83% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was February 2026 (87%); the worst, June 2026 (77%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 23% of 66 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 66 | 23% | 39% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 46 | 20% | 74% |
| Mar 7, 2026 | 57 | 12% | 54% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 56 | 11% | 79% |
| Jun 19, 2026 | 78 | 9% | 62% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 60 | 8% | 65% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 73 | 8% | 60% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 76 | 7% | 64% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 76 | 7% | 68% |
| Nov 20, 2025 | 71 | 6% | 70% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from ABQ, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.0% of the time, against 0.8% for its earlier flights (1.3× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 1.5% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Dallas (3.3% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 5:28 p.m. | 3.3% | 2.2% | 67% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 4:36 p.m. | 2.5% | 2.2% | 84% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 1:46 p.m. | 0.3% | 3.5% | 67% |
| IAH Houston | United Airlines | 2:08 p.m. | 1.4% | 2.2% | 82% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 12:24 p.m. | 1.5% | 2.0% | 76% |
| LAX Los Angeles | American Airlines | 12:05 p.m. | 1.2% | 2.1% | 86% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 7:16 p.m. | 1.4% | 1.9% | 75% |
| DAL Dallas | Southwest Airlines | 6:10 p.m. | 1.4% | 1.9% | 69% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 2:33 p.m. | 0.5% | 2.3% | 71% |
| AUS Austin | Southwest Airlines | 7:20 p.m. | 0.9% | 1.6% | 64% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 6:02 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.4% | 73% |
| LAX Los Angeles | Southwest Airlines | 7:55 p.m. | 2.0% | 0.0% | 56% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of ABQ
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At ABQ the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of ABQ; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at ABQ come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from ABQ
Where you're going matters too. From ABQ, the most reliable busy route was to Salt Lake City (SLC, 93% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 75%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO San Francisco | 710 | 74% | 0.1% | −5 min |
| ORD Chicago | 1,141 | 75% | 1.3% | −8 min |
| SAN San Diego | 681 | 78% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| AUS Austin | 842 | 78% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| DFW Dallas | 2,269 | 79% | 2.4% | −12 min |
| DAL Dallas | 1,625 | 81% | 1.5% | −7 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,715 | 81% | 0.4% | −8 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,302 | 81% | 0.5% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 3,216 | 82% | 0.6% | −7 min |
| HOU Houston | 970 | 83% | 0.2% | −6 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 399 | 84% | 1.0% | −5 min |
| SEA Seattle | 592 | 86% | 0.7% | −10 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,002 | 87% | 1.6% | −14 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 2,242 | 87% | 0.5% | −12 min |
| IAH Houston | 1,187 | 88% | 0.9% | −9 min |
| MDW Chicago | 423 | 88% | 0.9% | −7 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,149 | 93% | 0.0% | −12 min |
Flights into ABQ
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Albuquerque Sunport, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (67% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 2,266 | 67% | 2.5% |
| ORD Chicago | 1,144 | 70% | 1.2% |
| SAN San Diego | 683 | 75% | 0.7% |
| AUS Austin | 842 | 75% | 0.2% |
| BWI Baltimore | 401 | 75% | 0.8% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,712 | 75% | 0.5% |
| DAL Dallas | 1,623 | 75% | 1.4% |
| MDW Chicago | 423 | 77% | 0.5% |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,293 | 78% | 0.4% |
| DEN Denver | 3,218 | 78% | 0.4% |
| HOU Houston | 979 | 79% | 0.5% |
| SFO San Francisco | 711 | 80% | 0.4% |
| SEA Seattle | 592 | 80% | 0.5% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,002 | 82% | 1.4% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 2,243 | 85% | 0.3% |
| IAH Houston | 1,185 | 85% | 0.8% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,149 | 91% | 0.0% |
Questions about ABQ delays
What is the best time to fly out of ABQ?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 95% of ABQ departures at that hour arrived on time, against 58% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at ABQ?
July (76% on time). February is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at ABQ?
Delta Air Lines: 91% of its ABQ departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 80%.
Why are flights delayed at ABQ?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (42% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (33%).
How often are flights cancelled at ABQ?
0.9% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 1.9%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.