83% of flights leaving Lihue (LIH) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 7 points better than the national average of 76%. About 43 flights leave LIH on a typical day; 1.3% were cancelled. 84% 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. (95% on time). Worst: 2 p.m. (72%).
- Best month: September (90%). Worst: January (79%).
- Most reliable airline here: Southwest Airlines (94%), vs Alaska Airlines at 77%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (57% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (87% → 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 LIH: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 68% of the time. About 1 in 29 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 176 three hours or more; 1.3% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early83%
- 15–30 min late7.8%
- 30–60 min late4.1%
- 1–2 hours late2.3%
- 2–3 hours late0.6%
- 3+ hours late0.6%
- Diverted0.2%
- Cancelled1.3%
Share of all 15,859 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of LIH
Time of day matters more at LIH than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 95% of the time; at 2 p.m. it was 72%, a 23-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 93% on time against 86% 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: 5 p.m. departures were cancelled 2.3% of the time, against 1.3% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at LIH was a 7 a.m. departure in July (98% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in January (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 LIH, with 79% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 90%. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in August (1.7% of flights).
Airlines at LIH
Alaska Airlines runs 46% of departures from LIH. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Southwest Airlines was the most reliable (94% on time) and Alaska Airlines the least (77%), a 17-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 | 7,222 | 77% | 77% | 1.8% | 0 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 2,888 | 94% | 95% | 0.5% | −13 min |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 2,744 | 83% | 85% | 0.8% | −2 min |
| United Airlines | 1,445 | 90% | 93% | 1.5% | −15 min |
| American Airlines | 830 | 87% | 88% | 0.6% | −14 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 730 | 86% | 86% | 2.6% | −13 min |
Why flights are late at LIH
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At LIH, 57% 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 30%. 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 212 cancellations, 23% 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 11 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 83% of LIH departures were on time, against 87% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (90%); the worst, March 2026 (74%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Aug 16, 2026, when 52% of 46 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 16, 2026 | 46 | 52% | 7% |
| Aug 15, 2026 | 48 | 21% | 69% |
| Mar 13, 2026 | 45 | 18% | 24% |
| Feb 8, 2026 | 41 | 10% | 71% |
| May 15, 2026 | 45 | 9% | 38% |
| Nov 12, 2025 | 38 | 8% | 82% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 39 | 8% | 79% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 40 | 8% | 88% |
| Mar 10, 2026 | 41 | 7% | 88% |
| Nov 13, 2025 | 41 | 7% | 83% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from LIH, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.1% of the time, against 1.6% for its earlier flights, so at LIH the last flight is actually the steadier one. 0.4% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Alaska Airlines to Seattle (2.5% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 10:28 p.m. | 2.5% | 0.5% | 78% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 10:44 p.m. | 1.8% | 0.4% | 94% |
| HNL Honolulu | Alaska Airlines | 8:45 p.m. | 1.7% | 0.0% | 83% |
| OGG Kahului | Alaska Airlines | 2:30 p.m. | 0.4% | 0.4% | 55% |
| OGG Kahului | Hawaiian Airlines | — | 0.0% | 0.8% | 75% |
| HNL Honolulu | Southwest Airlines | 7:10 p.m. | 0.3% | 0.3% | 94% |
| HNL Honolulu | Hawaiian Airlines | — | 0.0% | 0.0% | 84% |
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 LIH
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At LIH 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 LIH come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from LIH
Where you're going matters too. From LIH, the most reliable busy route was to Los Angeles (LAX, 83% on time) and the least reliable to Kahului (OGG, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| KOA Kona | 365 | 79% | 0.3% | +2 min |
| OGG Kahului | 1,460 | 81% | 0.5% | −1 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,094 | 81% | 2.1% | −11 min |
| HNL Honolulu | 7,701 | 83% | 1.7% | −3 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,605 | 83% | 0.9% | −7 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 923 | 84% | 1.3% | −9 min |
| OAK Oakland | 647 | 87% | 0.6% | −10 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 384 | 91% | 0.5% | −15 min |
| DEN Denver | 379 | 93% | 2.4% | −23 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 365 | 97% | 0.3% | −20 min |
Flights into LIH
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Lihue, least reliable first. The weakest is from Seattle (72% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEA Seattle | 1,094 | 72% | 0.7% |
| OGG Kahului | 1,460 | 75% | 0.1% |
| OAK Oakland | 646 | 81% | 0.9% |
| PHX Phoenix | 384 | 81% | 0.3% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 1,605 | 82% | 0.8% |
| HNL Honolulu | 7,699 | 82% | 1.5% |
| DEN Denver | 379 | 84% | 1.1% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 365 | 84% | 0.3% |
| SFO San Francisco | 922 | 88% | 0.5% |
| KOA Kona | 365 | 92% | 0.8% |
Questions about LIH delays
What is the best time to fly out of LIH?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 95% of LIH departures at that hour arrived on time, against 72% at 2 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at LIH?
January (79% on time). September is the best month (90%).
Which airline is most on time at LIH?
Southwest Airlines: 94% of its LIH departures arrived on time over the past year. Alaska Airlines had the weakest record at 77%.
Why are flights delayed at LIH?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (57% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (30%).
How often are flights cancelled at LIH?
1.3% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in August at 1.7%.
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.