84% of flights leaving Kona (KOA) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 8 points better than the national average of 76%. About 44 flights leave KOA on a typical day; 1.4% were cancelled. 85% 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: 6 a.m. (93% on time). Worst: 2 p.m. (74%).
- Best month: September (92%). Worst: January (81%).
- Most reliable airline here: Southwest Airlines (93%), vs Alaska Airlines at 78%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (48% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (88% → 84%).
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 KOA: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 67% of the time. About 1 in 31 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 206 three hours or more; 1.4% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early84%
- 15–30 min late7.1%
- 30–60 min late4.3%
- 1–2 hours late2.0%
- 2–3 hours late0.8%
- 3+ hours late0.5%
- Diverted0.1%
- Cancelled1.4%
Share of all 16,077 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of KOA
Time of day matters more at KOA than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 93% of the time; at 2 p.m. it was 74%, a 19-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 92% on time against 85% 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: 7 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.5% of the time, against 1.4% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at KOA was a 7 a.m. departure in July (99% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in February (70%). 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
January is the hardest month at KOA, with 81% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 92%. Winter costs 5 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (2.6% of flights).
Airlines at KOA
Alaska Airlines runs 46% of departures from KOA. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Southwest Airlines was the most reliable (93% on time) and Alaska Airlines the least (78%), a 15-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 | 7,372 | 78% | 80% | 1.5% | 0 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 2,888 | 93% | 93% | 1.0% | −12 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 2,301 | 86% | 88% | 0.9% | −1 min |
| United Airlines | 1,834 | 88% | 90% | 1.5% | −13 min |
| American Airlines | 856 | 86% | 89% | 1.4% | −14 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 826 | 85% | 84% | 3.1% | −12 min |
Why flights are late at KOA
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At KOA, 48% 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 34%. 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 223 cancellations, 35% 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 13 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 84% of KOA departures were on time, against 88% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (93%); the worst, March 2026 (75%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Aug 15, 2026, when 56% of 43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 15, 2026 | 43 | 56% | 40% |
| Mar 14, 2026 | 51 | 33% | 14% |
| Oct 30, 2025 | 41 | 29% | 22% |
| Aug 16, 2026 | 43 | 23% | 16% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 44 | 11% | 45% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | 46 | 11% | 48% |
| Mar 20, 2026 | 47 | 9% | 47% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 40 | 8% | 85% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | 41 | 7% | 85% |
| Nov 7, 2025 | 42 | 7% | 83% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from KOA, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.0% of the time, against 1.6% for its earlier flights, so at KOA the last flight is actually the steadier one. 0.3% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Los Angeles (1.7% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX Los Angeles | United Airlines | 10:15 p.m. | 1.7% | 1.7% | 93% |
| HNL Honolulu | Southwest Airlines | 7:00 p.m. | 1.9% | 0.3% | 92% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 9:19 p.m. | 1.4% | 0.0% | 85% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 10:50 p.m. | 0.9% | 0.3% | 95% |
| HNL Honolulu | Alaska Airlines | 8:45 p.m. | 0.8% | 0.0% | 85% |
| OGG Kahului | Alaska Airlines | 1:52 p.m. | 0.0% | 0.8% | 72% |
| HNL Honolulu | Hawaiian Airlines | — | 0.0% | 0.0% | 84% |
| OGG Kahului | Hawaiian Airlines | — | 0.0% | 0.0% | 90% |
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 KOA
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At KOA the 6 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in January? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Southwest Airlines has the better record here.
- Delayed already? Most delays at KOA come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from KOA
Where you're going matters too. From KOA, the most reliable busy route was to Kahului (OGG, 87% on time) and the least reliable to Honolulu (HNL, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| HNL Honolulu | 7,227 | 83% | 1.5% | −1 min |
| PDX Portland | 365 | 83% | 0.3% | −8 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,202 | 83% | 1.4% | −9 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,412 | 85% | 2.3% | −12 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,601 | 85% | 1.4% | −11 min |
| OGG Kahului | 1,460 | 87% | 0.4% | −2 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 522 | 88% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| DEN Denver | 370 | 89% | 2.2% | −19 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 384 | 92% | 1.3% | −14 min |
| LIH Lihue | 365 | 92% | 0.8% | −2 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 365 | 94% | 0.5% | −22 min |
Flights into KOA
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Ellison Onizuka Kona at Keāhole, least reliable first. The weakest is from Seattle (73% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEA Seattle | 1,410 | 73% | 1.4% |
| LIH Lihue | 365 | 79% | 0.3% |
| OGG Kahului | 1,460 | 79% | 0.3% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,601 | 81% | 0.9% |
| PHX Phoenix | 384 | 81% | 0.3% |
| DEN Denver | 370 | 84% | 1.1% |
| HNL Honolulu | 7,226 | 84% | 1.4% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 365 | 85% | 0.3% |
| PDX Portland | 365 | 86% | 0.0% |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,202 | 86% | 0.4% |
| SMF Sacramento | 522 | 87% | 0.4% |
Questions about KOA delays
What is the best time to fly out of KOA?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 93% of KOA departures at that hour arrived on time, against 74% at 2 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at KOA?
January (81% on time). September is the best month (92%).
Which airline is most on time at KOA?
Southwest Airlines: 93% of its KOA departures arrived on time over the past year. Alaska Airlines had the weakest record at 78%.
Why are flights delayed at KOA?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (48% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (34%).
How often are flights cancelled at KOA?
1.4% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 2.6%.
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.