82% of flights leaving Portland (PDX) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 7 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 6 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 209 flights leave PDX on a typical day; 0.8% 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: 8 p.m. (73%).
- Best month: November (86%). Worst: July (78%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (88%), vs Southwest Airlines at 75%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (37% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (84% → 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 PDX: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 65% of the time. About 1 in 25 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 137 three hours or more; 0.8% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early82%
- 15–30 min late7.5%
- 30–60 min late5.0%
- 1–2 hours late2.5%
- 2–3 hours late0.8%
- 3+ hours late0.7%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled0.8%
Share of all 76,422 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of PDX
Time of day matters more at PDX than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 94% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 73%, a 21-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 88% on time against 79% 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 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.5% of the time, against 0.8% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at PDX was a 5 a.m. departure in August (95% on time); the least, 11 p.m. in July (63%). 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 PDX, with 78% of flights on time across 2023–2026; November is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 6 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 3 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (3.5% of flights).
Airlines at PDX
Alaska Airlines runs 58% of departures from PDX, so PDX is effectively its hub. When Alaska Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (88% on time) and Southwest Airlines the least (75%), 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 | 44,547 | 84% | 85% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,557 | 88% | 88% | 0.9% | −12 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 8,585 | 75% | 71% | 0.3% | −1 min |
| United Airlines | 6,927 | 80% | 84% | 0.6% | −9 min |
| American Airlines | 5,166 | 80% | 77% | 1.6% | −11 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 799 | 78% | 80% | 1.3% | −9 min |
| Allegiant Air | 360 | 71% | 77% | 0.3% | −1 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 291 | 54% | 58% | 1.7% | +12 min |
| JetBlue | 161 | 60% | 55% | 5.6% | −1 min |
Why flights are late at PDX
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At PDX, 37% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 36%. Of the 575 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 16 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 82% of PDX departures were on time, against 84% in the 12 months before, a decline of 1 points. The best recent month was April 2026 (87%); the worst, August 2026 (78%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 7% of 176 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 | 176 | 7% | 80% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | 204 | 7% | 73% |
| Oct 23, 2025 | 228 | 7% | 71% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 189 | 6% | 88% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | 207 | 6% | 76% |
| Oct 24, 2025 | 230 | 6% | 61% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 212 | 5% | 80% |
| Nov 8, 2025 | 176 | 5% | 85% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 212 | 5% | 73% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 179 | 4% | 88% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from PDX, each airline's final departure was cancelled 0.8% of the time, against 0.8% for its earlier flights, about the same. 0.8% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Dallas (4.7% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 11:41 p.m. | 4.7% | 2.8% | 73% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 5:28 p.m. | 0.8% | 4.1% | 75% |
| HNL Honolulu | Hawaiian Airlines | — | 0.0% | 4.9% | 57% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 11:15 p.m. | 1.5% | 2.7% | 77% |
| HNL Honolulu | Alaska Airlines | 5:32 p.m. | 2.9% | 0.8% | 60% |
| LAX Los Angeles | American Airlines | 7:00 a.m. | 0.0% | 3.5% | 77% |
| EWR Newark | United Airlines | 10:52 p.m. | 1.3% | 2.0% | 76% |
| JFK New York | Delta Air Lines | 10:35 p.m. | 1.6% | 1.6% | 88% |
| ORD Chicago | Alaska Airlines | 10:59 p.m. | 2.7% | 0.0% | 88% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | Delta Air Lines | 7:00 p.m. | 2.2% | 0.5% | 88% |
| MFR Medford | Alaska Airlines | 10:04 p.m. | 2.5% | 0.0% | 84% |
| LAX Los Angeles | Delta Air Lines | 8:28 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.9% | 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.
PDX at the holidays
On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from PDX arrived on time 83% of the time, against 87% normally (−4.0 points; 2nd of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from PDX arrived on time 77% of the time, against 83% normally (−5.9 points; 3rd of the 30 busiest airports).
Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →
Tips for flying out of PDX
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At PDX 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.
- Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at PDX.
- Delayed already? Most delays at PDX come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Delayed at PDX right now? See how much later PDX delays usually get, and what to do →
Routes from PDX
Where you're going matters too. From PDX, the most reliable busy route was to Minneapolis (MSP, 90% on time) and the least reliable to San Francisco (SFO, 66%). 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 | 903 | 59% | 1.9% | +8 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 3,733 | 66% | 0.5% | +1 min |
| SAN San Diego | 1,842 | 74% | 0.7% | +1 min |
| BOS Boston | 699 | 77% | 1.9% | −5 min |
| ORD Chicago | 2,814 | 78% | 1.0% | −7 min |
| DTW Detroit | 377 | 79% | 1.1% | −5 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,789 | 79% | 0.4% | −4 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 2,934 | 79% | 0.5% | −4 min |
| DFW Dallas | 2,327 | 80% | 2.3% | −10 min |
| OAK Oakland | 1,914 | 80% | 0.7% | −4 min |
| PSP Palm Springs | 778 | 81% | 1.4% | −3 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 372 | 81% | 0.3% | −6 min |
| DEN Denver | 4,280 | 82% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| ANC Anchorage | 1,699 | 82% | 0.2% | −6 min |
| EWR Newark | 923 | 83% | 1.7% | −15 min |
| AUS Austin | 609 | 83% | 1.0% | −3 min |
| STS Santa Rosa | 848 | 83% | 1.1% | −8 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 2,541 | 83% | 0.4% | −5 min |
| SJC San Jose | 2,554 | 83% | 0.6% | −6 min |
| SEA Seattle | 6,528 | 84% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| JFK New York | 924 | 84% | 2.2% | −14 min |
| MFR Medford | 1,264 | 85% | 1.3% | −5 min |
| MCO Orlando | 391 | 85% | 0.0% | −11 min |
| ONT Ontario | 1,066 | 85% | 0.9% | −5 min |
| FAT Fresno | 680 | 85% | 0.4% | −7 min |
| BUR Burbank | 1,040 | 86% | 0.8% | −6 min |
| IAH Houston | 1,208 | 86% | 0.5% | −11 min |
| KOA Kona | 365 | 86% | 0.0% | −10 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 4,294 | 86% | 0.6% | −9 min |
| TUS Tucson | 480 | 87% | 0.0% | −6 min |
| GEG Spokane | 1,762 | 87% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,544 | 87% | 0.9% | −10 min |
| MSO Missoula | 484 | 87% | 0.4% | −4 min |
| BOI Boise | 1,747 | 87% | 0.7% | −7 min |
| SBA Santa Barbara | 463 | 88% | 0.9% | −7 min |
| MDW Chicago | 675 | 88% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| RDM Bend | 1,097 | 88% | 0.8% | −6 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 2,586 | 88% | 1.1% | −10 min |
| RNO Reno | 1,005 | 88% | 0.7% | −6 min |
| EUG Eugene | 951 | 89% | 0.8% | −7 min |
| OGG Kahului | 728 | 89% | 0.4% | −12 min |
| BZN Bozeman | 432 | 89% | 0.0% | −10 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 440 | 90% | 1.1% | −16 min |
| SBP San Luis Obispo | 471 | 90% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| SNA Santa Ana | 1,543 | 90% | 1.0% | −8 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,610 | 90% | 0.6% | −12 min |
Flights into PDX
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Portland, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (58% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| MDW Chicago | 674 | 58% | 1.0% |
| CLT Charlotte | 440 | 63% | 1.1% |
| DFW Dallas | 2,328 | 66% | 2.1% |
| ORD Chicago | 2,811 | 67% | 0.9% |
| DTW Detroit | 377 | 70% | 1.1% |
| JFK New York | 924 | 70% | 2.4% |
| BOS Boston | 700 | 72% | 2.3% |
| MCO Orlando | 390 | 73% | 0.0% |
| DEN Denver | 4,280 | 75% | 0.3% |
| EWR Newark | 923 | 75% | 1.7% |
| HNL Honolulu | 906 | 75% | 1.7% |
| SFO San Francisco | 3,729 | 76% | 0.7% |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,789 | 77% | 0.4% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,545 | 78% | 0.9% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 2,933 | 78% | 0.7% |
| IAH Houston | 1,209 | 80% | 0.5% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,610 | 81% | 0.7% |
| SEA Seattle | 6,524 | 81% | 0.7% |
| OAK Oakland | 1,913 | 82% | 0.8% |
| SAN San Diego | 1,847 | 82% | 0.9% |
| BZN Bozeman | 434 | 82% | 1.6% |
| SMF Sacramento | 2,541 | 83% | 0.8% |
| KOA Kona | 365 | 83% | 0.3% |
| OGG Kahului | 728 | 84% | 0.7% |
| GEG Spokane | 1,762 | 85% | 0.8% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 46 routes into PDX.
Questions about PDX delays
What is the best time to fly out of PDX?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 94% of PDX departures at that hour arrived on time, against 73% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at PDX?
July (78% on time). November is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at PDX?
Delta Air Lines: 88% of its PDX departures arrived on time over the past year. Southwest Airlines had the weakest record at 75%.
Why are flights delayed at PDX?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (37% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (36%).
How often are flights cancelled at PDX?
0.8% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 3.5%.
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.