83% of flights leaving Spokane (GEG) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 7 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 3 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 60 flights leave GEG on a typical day; 0.9% were cancelled. 83% 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. (94% on time). Worst: 3 p.m. (76%).
- Best month: April (88%). Worst: July (79%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (89%), vs American Airlines at 76%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (36% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (84% → 83%).
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 GEG: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 59% of the time. About 1 in 21 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 110 three hours or more; 0.9% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early83%
- 15–30 min late6.4%
- 30–60 min late4.7%
- 1–2 hours late2.9%
- 2–3 hours late0.9%
- 3+ hours late0.9%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled0.9%
Share of all 22,077 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of GEG
Time of day matters more at GEG than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 94% of the time; at 3 p.m. it was 76%, a 18-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 91% on time against 77% 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: 11 a.m. departures were cancelled 1.8% of the time, against 0.9% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at GEG was a 8 a.m. departure in April (98% on time); the least, 6 p.m. in July (69%). 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 GEG, with 79% of flights on time across 2023–2026; April is the best at 88%. Summer (June–August) runs 7 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 5 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (1.8% of flights).
Airlines at GEG
Alaska Airlines runs 36% of departures from GEG. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (89% on time) and American Airlines the least (76%), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 8,007 | 82% | 83% | 1.3% | −6 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 6,417 | 89% | 89% | 0.7% | −13 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 3,618 | 84% | 80% | 0.3% | −7 min |
| United Airlines | 2,149 | 77% | 82% | 0.8% | −6 min |
| American Airlines | 1,511 | 76% | 74% | 1.1% | −7 min |
| Allegiant Air | 231 | 59% | 64% | 1.3% | +5 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 144 | 74% | 77% | 0.7% | −8 min |
Why flights are late at GEG
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At GEG, 36% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 35%. Of the 190 cancellations, 38% were blamed on weather, so most were within the airlines’ control or the air traffic system’s.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 17 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 83% of GEG departures were on time, against 84% in the 12 months before, a decline of 1 points. The best recent month was April 2026 (88%); the worst, August 2026 (76%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Wednesday, Jan 14, 2026, when 22% of 49 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 14, 2026 | 49 | 22% | 55% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | 61 | 20% | 10% |
| Jan 15, 2026 | 62 | 10% | 68% |
| Oct 23, 2025 | 65 | 8% | 74% |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 55 | 7% | 89% |
| Oct 24, 2025 | 64 | 6% | 69% |
| Jun 11, 2026 | 70 | 6% | 71% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 55 | 5% | 84% |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 56 | 5% | 82% |
| Feb 17, 2026 | 57 | 5% | 63% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from GEG, each airline's final departure was cancelled 0.7% of the time, against 0.9% for its earlier flights, so at GEG the last flight is actually the steadier one. 1.1% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Alaska Airlines to Los Angeles (1.3% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX Los Angeles | Alaska Airlines | 11:51 a.m. | 1.3% | 1.6% | 79% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 2:23 p.m. | 0.6% | 2.3% | 89% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 4:08 p.m. | 1.4% | 1.4% | 81% |
| BOI Boise | Alaska Airlines | 7:24 p.m. | 1.9% | 0.8% | 84% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 12:49 p.m. | 0.5% | 2.1% | 57% |
| PDX Portland | Alaska Airlines | 7:41 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.1% | 81% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 3:00 p.m. | 0.0% | 2.2% | 77% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 12:37 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.7% | 69% |
| DEN Denver | Southwest Airlines | 2:15 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.4% | 67% |
| SEA Seattle | Delta Air Lines | 7:54 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.5% | 88% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 7:45 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.5% | 67% |
| SMF Sacramento | Southwest Airlines | 5:30 p.m. | 0.4% | 0.8% | 67% |
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 GEG
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At GEG 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.
- Delayed already? Most delays at GEG come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from GEG
Where you're going matters too. From GEG, the most reliable busy route was to Salt Lake City (SLC, 90% on time) and the least reliable to Phoenix (PHX, 83%). 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 | 696 | 64% | 1.9% | +3 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,056 | 70% | 0.7% | −1 min |
| DFW Dallas | 559 | 76% | 1.6% | −10 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,264 | 83% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 856 | 83% | 0.4% | −8 min |
| DEN Denver | 2,042 | 83% | 0.3% | −8 min |
| SAN San Diego | 442 | 84% | 0.9% | −9 min |
| SEA Seattle | 6,157 | 84% | 1.2% | −7 min |
| PDX Portland | 1,762 | 85% | 0.8% | −6 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 540 | 85% | 0.7% | −16 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,226 | 85% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 608 | 86% | 0.3% | −8 min |
| BOI Boise | 1,326 | 87% | 1.6% | −12 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 774 | 89% | 0.8% | −14 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,668 | 90% | 0.6% | −14 min |
Flights into GEG
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Spokane, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (60% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 559 | 60% | 1.6% |
| ORD Chicago | 697 | 64% | 1.6% |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,051 | 71% | 1.1% |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,264 | 74% | 0.5% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 856 | 76% | 0.5% |
| SMF Sacramento | 608 | 76% | 0.0% |
| DEN Denver | 2,042 | 76% | 0.4% |
| ATL Atlanta | 541 | 79% | 0.7% |
| SAN San Diego | 442 | 80% | 0.9% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 774 | 81% | 0.8% |
| SEA Seattle | 6,157 | 83% | 1.0% |
| BOI Boise | 1,326 | 84% | 1.1% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,668 | 85% | 0.4% |
| PDX Portland | 1,762 | 87% | 0.7% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,225 | 87% | 0.5% |
Questions about GEG delays
What is the best time to fly out of GEG?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 94% of GEG departures at that hour arrived on time, against 76% at 3 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at GEG?
July (79% on time). April is the best month (88%).
Which airline is most on time at GEG?
Delta Air Lines: 89% of its GEG departures arrived on time over the past year. American Airlines had the weakest record at 76%.
Why are flights delayed at GEG?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (36% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (35%).
How often are flights cancelled at GEG?
0.9% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 1.8%.
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.