78% of flights leaving Palm Springs (PSP) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 2 points better than the national average of 76%. About 43 flights leave PSP on a typical day; 1.4% were cancelled. 79% 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. (91% on time). Worst: 8 a.m. (69%).
- Best month: October (85%). Worst: March (77%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (87%), vs United Airlines at 74%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (35% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (82% → 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 PSP: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 52% of the time. About 1 in 14 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 59 three hours or more; 1.4% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early78%
- 15–30 min late6.9%
- 30–60 min late5.7%
- 1–2 hours late4.0%
- 2–3 hours late1.5%
- 3+ hours late1.7%
- Diverted0.5%
- Cancelled1.4%
Share of all 15,844 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of PSP
Time of day matters more at PSP than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 91% of the time; at 8 a.m. it was 69%, a 23-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 84% on time against 74% 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 2.3% of the time, against 1.4% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at PSP was a 5 a.m. departure in October (95% on time); the least, 2 p.m. in March (59%). 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
March is the hardest month at PSP, with 77% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 85%. 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 (3.4% of flights).
Airlines at PSP
United Airlines runs 28% of departures from PSP. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (87% on time) and United Airlines the least (74%), 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 4,386 | 74% | 78% | 0.9% | −5 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 3,979 | 77% | 79% | 1.9% | −9 min |
| American Airlines | 2,911 | 77% | 78% | 2.0% | −8 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 2,520 | 82% | 79% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,890 | 87% | 86% | 1.3% | −13 min |
| Allegiant Air | 106 | 84% | 83% | 0.0% | −8 min |
Why flights are late at PSP
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At PSP, 35% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 32%. Of the 216 cancellations, 42% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 17 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 78% of PSP departures were on time, against 82% in the 12 months before, a decline of 4 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (83%); the worst, June 2026 (73%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Jan 3, 2026, when 57% of 58 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 3, 2026 | 58 | 57% | 12% |
| Jan 4, 2026 | 60 | 48% | 12% |
| Feb 18, 2026 | 58 | 14% | 28% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 52 | 12% | 65% |
| Jan 5, 2026 | 60 | 10% | 72% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 56 | 9% | 68% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 58 | 9% | 76% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 45 | 7% | 82% |
| Nov 8, 2025 | 46 | 7% | 41% |
| Nov 11, 2025 | 46 | 7% | 85% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from PSP, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.5% of the time, against 1.3% for its earlier flights, about the same. 1.8% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Chicago (3.1% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | — | 3.1% | 3.6% | 58% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 12:44 p.m. | 2.8% | 3.0% | 69% |
| SFO San Francisco | Alaska Airlines | 3:51 p.m. | 2.2% | 2.2% | 54% |
| LAX Los Angeles | United Airlines | 7:26 a.m. | 1.6% | 2.3% | 77% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 6:27 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.7% | 53% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 2:10 p.m. | 2.2% | 1.4% | 82% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 1:30 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.5% | 76% |
| OAK Oakland | Southwest Airlines | 2:15 p.m. | 0.9% | 1.8% | 75% |
| PDX Portland | Alaska Airlines | 7:16 a.m. | 1.8% | 0.4% | 89% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 7:37 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.8% | 77% |
| DEN Denver | Southwest Airlines | 6:15 a.m. | 1.2% | 0.6% | 65% |
| LAS Las Vegas | Southwest Airlines | 4:00 p.m. | 0.4% | 1.1% | 69% |
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 PSP
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At PSP the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in March? 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.
- Delayed already? Most delays at PSP come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from PSP
Where you're going matters too. From PSP, the most reliable busy route was to Seattle (SEA, 86% on time) and the least reliable to San Francisco (SFO, 60%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO San Francisco | 2,789 | 60% | 1.2% | +4 min |
| ORD Chicago | 787 | 72% | 2.5% | −7 min |
| DFW Dallas | 997 | 78% | 3.0% | −7 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 739 | 79% | 0.5% | −7 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,439 | 80% | 0.9% | −10 min |
| DEN Denver | 2,027 | 82% | 0.8% | −9 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 522 | 83% | 0.6% | −10 min |
| OAK Oakland | 471 | 85% | 0.9% | −11 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 501 | 85% | 0.4% | −6 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,683 | 86% | 1.3% | −12 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,080 | 92% | 0.4% | −15 min |
| PDX Portland | 777 | 92% | 1.9% | −15 min |
Flights into PSP
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Palm Springs, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (68% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 787 | 68% | 2.3% |
| DFW Dallas | 997 | 70% | 2.9% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 741 | 72% | 0.9% |
| SFO San Francisco | 2,769 | 73% | 1.3% |
| OAK Oakland | 473 | 75% | 0.9% |
| DEN Denver | 2,026 | 76% | 0.5% |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,439 | 77% | 1.0% |
| PDX Portland | 778 | 81% | 1.4% |
| SEA Seattle | 1,685 | 82% | 1.0% |
| SMF Sacramento | 523 | 87% | 0.2% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 501 | 90% | 0.6% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,080 | 91% | 0.4% |
Questions about PSP delays
What is the best time to fly out of PSP?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 91% of PSP departures at that hour arrived on time, against 69% at 8 a.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at PSP?
March (77% on time). October is the best month (85%).
Which airline is most on time at PSP?
Delta Air Lines: 87% of its PSP departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 74%.
Why are flights delayed at PSP?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (35% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (32%).
How often are flights cancelled at PSP?
1.4% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 3.4%.
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.