78% of flights leaving Punta Gorda (PGD) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 2 points better than the national average of 76%. About 20 flights leave PGD on a typical day; 0.6% 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: 6 a.m. (93% on time). Worst: 6 p.m. (59%).
- Best month: November (84%). Worst: July (74%).
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (35% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (79% → 78%).
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 PGD: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 52% of the time. About 1 in 13 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 61 three hours or more; 0.6% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early78%
- 15–30 min late6.9%
- 30–60 min late6.1%
- 1–2 hours late4.5%
- 2–3 hours late1.6%
- 3+ hours late1.7%
- Diverted0.4%
- Cancelled0.6%
Share of all 7,388 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of PGD
Time of day matters more at PGD than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 93% of the time; at 6 p.m. it was 59%, a 35-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 92% on time against 60% 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: 3 p.m. departures were cancelled 1.1% of the time, against 0.6% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at PGD was a 6 a.m. departure in April (98% on time); the least, 6 p.m. in June (44%). 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 PGD, with 74% of flights on time across 2023–2026; November is the best at 84%. Summer (June–August) runs 8 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in October (3.7% of flights).
Airlines at PGD
Allegiant Air runs 100% of departures from PGD, so PGD is effectively its hub. When Allegiant Air has a bad day, so does the airport.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Allegiant Air | 7,388 | 78% | 78% | 0.6% | −8 min |
Why flights are late at PGD
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At PGD, 35% 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 28%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 12 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
PGD vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGD Punta Gorda | — | 7,388 | 78% | 0.6% |
| RSW Southwest Florida | 30 mi | 34,735 | 76% | 1.9% |
| SRQ Sarasota Bradenton | 48 mi | 17,464 | 79% | 1.7% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 78% of PGD departures were on time, against 79% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was September 2025 (88%); the worst, December 2025 (71%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Monday, Mar 16, 2026, when 27% of 33 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 16, 2026 | 33 | 27% | 33% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 27 | 26% | 56% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 34 | 18% | 44% |
| Nov 29, 2025 | 33 | 12% | 55% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 25 | 12% | 52% |
| Mar 17, 2026 | 19 | 11% | 21% |
| Jun 21, 2026 | 22 | 9% | 59% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 35 | 9% | 71% |
| Dec 27, 2025 | 38 | 5% | 42% |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 21 | 5% | 43% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from PGD, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.0% of the time, against 1.0% for its earlier flights, about the same. 3.0% of last flights landed 3+ hours late.
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 PGD
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At PGD the 6 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.
- Delayed already? Most delays at PGD come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Questions about PGD delays
What is the best time to fly out of PGD?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 93% of PGD departures at that hour arrived on time, against 59% at 6 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at PGD?
July (74% on time). November is the best month (84%).
Why are flights delayed at PGD?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (35% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (28%).
How often are flights cancelled at PGD?
0.6% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in October at 3.7%.
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.