76% of flights leaving Fargo (FAR) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. About 22 flights leave FAR on a typical day; 1.8% were cancelled. 78% 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. (86% on time). Worst: 5 p.m. (69%).
- Best month: October (85%). Worst: December (72%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (81%), vs United Airlines at 69%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (32% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (77% → 76%).
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 FAR: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 47% of the time. About 1 in 11 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 35 three hours or more; 1.8% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early76%
- 15–30 min late6.4%
- 30–60 min late6.0%
- 1–2 hours late4.7%
- 2–3 hours late1.9%
- 3+ hours late2.8%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.8%
Share of all 8,015 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of FAR
Time of day matters more at FAR than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 86% of the time; at 5 p.m. it was 69%, a 17-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 83% on time against 68% 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: 5 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.9% of the time, against 1.8% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at FAR was a 6 a.m. departure in August (95% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in July (58%). 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
December is the hardest month at FAR, with 72% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 85%. Summer (June–August) runs 7 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 9 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (2.5% of flights).
Airlines at FAR
United Airlines runs 33% of departures from FAR. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (81% on time) and United Airlines the least (69%), a 13-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 2,635 | 69% | 73% | 2.2% | −3 min |
| American Airlines | 2,300 | 79% | 80% | 2.4% | −11 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,159 | 81% | 83% | 1.4% | −12 min |
| Allegiant Air | 749 | 78% | 79% | 0.4% | −9 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 172 | 79% | 81% | 0.0% | −13 min |
Why flights are late at FAR
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At FAR, 32% 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 32%. 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 147 cancellations, 71% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 20 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 76% of FAR departures were on time, against 77% in the 12 months before, a decline of 1 points. The best recent month was October 2025 (84%); the worst, December 2025 (64%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Apr 4, 2026, when 42% of 24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 4, 2026 | 24 | 42% | 25% |
| Dec 18, 2025 | 19 | 37% | 37% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 25 | 36% | 28% |
| Nov 29, 2025 | 22 | 32% | 23% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 22 | 23% | 50% |
| Jan 18, 2026 | 21 | 19% | 14% |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 23 | 17% | 78% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 24 | 17% | 25% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 18 | 17% | 67% |
| Jul 4, 2026 | 20 | 15% | 55% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from FAR, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.4% of the time, against 1.5% for its earlier flights (2.3× 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. 3.1% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (5.0% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 5:47 p.m. | 5.0% | 6.3% | 65% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 4:38 p.m. | 6.4% | 3.0% | 66% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 5:11 p.m. | 2.2% | 4.1% | 65% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 6:54 p.m. | 1.6% | 1.9% | 72% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 5:39 p.m. | 2.5% | 0.0% | 79% |
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 FAR
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At FAR the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in December? 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 FAR; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at FAR come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from FAR
Where you're going matters too. From FAR, the most reliable busy route was to Minneapolis (MSP, 82% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 70%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 2,506 | 70% | 3.1% | −6 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,413 | 72% | 1.0% | −4 min |
| AZA Phoenix | 372 | 80% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,904 | 82% | 1.3% | −12 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,086 | 84% | 1.9% | −12 min |
Flights into FAR
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Hector, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (65% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 2,505 | 65% | 3.5% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,905 | 78% | 1.3% |
| DEN Denver | 1,415 | 79% | 0.7% |
| DFW Dallas | 1,086 | 84% | 1.8% |
| AZA Phoenix | 372 | 88% | 0.0% |
Questions about FAR delays
What is the best time to fly out of FAR?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 86% of FAR departures at that hour arrived on time, against 69% at 5 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at FAR?
December (72% on time). October is the best month (85%).
Which airline is most on time at FAR?
Delta Air Lines: 81% of its FAR departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 69%.
Why are flights delayed at FAR?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (32% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (32%).
How often are flights cancelled at FAR?
1.8% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 2.5%.
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.