82% of flights leaving Fairbanks (FAI) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 6 points better than the national average of 76%. About 14 flights leave FAI on a typical day; 1.9% 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. (87% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (74%).
- Best month: April (90%). Worst: December (71%).
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (48% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (86% → 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 FAI: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 64% of the time. About 1 in 22 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 93 three hours or more; 1.9% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early82%
- 15–30 min late7.8%
- 30–60 min late4.0%
- 1–2 hours late2.5%
- 2–3 hours late1.0%
- 3+ hours late1.1%
- Diverted0.1%
- Cancelled1.9%
Share of all 5,108 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of FAI
Departure time makes a real difference at FAI. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 87% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 74%, a 14-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 88% on time against 75% 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: 1 p.m. departures were cancelled 3.4% of the time, against 1.9% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at FAI was a 5 a.m. departure in May (98% on time); the least, 1 a.m. in December (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 FAI, with 71% of flights on time across 2023–2026; April is the best at 90%. Winter costs 9 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (4.1% of flights).
Airlines at FAI
Alaska Airlines runs 83% of departures from FAI, so FAI is effectively its hub. When Alaska Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska Airlines | 4,258 | 83% | 85% | 1.9% | −9 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 575 | 74% | 71% | 2.1% | −6 min |
| United Airlines | 275 | 72% | 69% | 0.7% | −2 min |
Why flights are late at FAI
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At FAI, 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 33%. 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 97 cancellations, 63% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 14 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 82% of FAI departures were on time, against 86% in the 12 months before, a decline of 5 points. The best recent month was April 2026 (93%); the worst, December 2025 (62%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Thursday, Jan 1, 2026, when 38% of 13 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 1, 2026 | 13 | 38% | 46% |
| Jan 3, 2026 | 14 | 36% | 50% |
| Dec 27, 2025 | 14 | 36% | 50% |
| Jan 4, 2026 | 14 | 36% | 50% |
| Dec 28, 2025 | 14 | 36% | 43% |
| Dec 31, 2025 | 14 | 36% | 36% |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 14 | 36% | 29% |
| Jan 2, 2026 | 14 | 36% | 57% |
| Dec 30, 2025 | 14 | 29% | 57% |
| Feb 28, 2026 | 11 | 18% | 45% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from FAI, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.7% of the time, against 1.9% for its earlier flights, about the same. 0.8% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Alaska Airlines to Anchorage (3.6% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANC Anchorage | Alaska Airlines | 8:41 p.m. | 3.6% | 0.3% | 80% |
| SEA Seattle | Delta Air Lines | 2:41 p.m. | 0.0% | 1.8% | 80% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 3:53 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.1% | 77% |
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 FAI
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At FAI 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.
- Delayed already? Most delays at FAI come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from FAI
Where you're going matters too. From FAI, the most reliable busy route was to Anchorage (ANC, 83% on time) and the least reliable to Seattle (SEA, 81%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA Seattle | 2,253 | 81% | 1.0% | −8 min |
| ANC Anchorage | 2,409 | 83% | 3.0% | −10 min |
Flights into FAI
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Fairbanks, least reliable first. The weakest is from Seattle (78% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEA Seattle | 2,254 | 78% | 0.8% |
| ANC Anchorage | 2,409 | 84% | 2.9% |
Questions about FAI delays
What is the best time to fly out of FAI?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 87% of FAI departures at that hour arrived on time, against 74% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at FAI?
December (71% on time). April is the best month (90%).
Why are flights delayed at FAI?
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 (33%).
How often are flights cancelled at FAI?
1.9% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 4.1%.
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.