SCE State College delays

78% of flights leaving State College (SCE) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 2 points better than the national average of 76%. About 11 flights leave SCE on a typical day; 2.8% were cancelled. 80% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.

How late?

Best time of day to fly out of SCE

Time of day matters more at SCE than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 85% of the time; at 5 p.m. it was 60%, a 25-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 84% on time against 69% 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 6.4% of the time, against 2.8% overall.

Hour × month

Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at SCE was a 3 p.m. departure in September (92% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in January (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

January is the hardest month at SCE, with 69% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 6 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 10 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.1% of flights).

Airlines at SCE

United Airlines runs 70% of departures from SCE, so SCE is effectively its hub. When United Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, American Airlines was the most reliable (80% on time) and United Airlines the least (77%), a 3-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.

Why flights are late at SCE

Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At SCE, 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 22%. 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 109 cancellations, 82% 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 SCE departures were on time, against 78% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was September 2025 (87%); the worst, December 2025 (70%).

Worst cancellation days

The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 100% of 10 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.

Last flights of the day

The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from SCE, each airline's final departure was cancelled 5.0% of the time, against 1.9% for its earlier flights (2.6× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.7% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (6.3% cancelled).

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 SCE

• Book the earliest departure you can live with. At SCE 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? American Airlines has the better record here.
• Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of SCE; the one before it leaves you a backup.
• Delayed already? Most delays at SCE come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.

Routes from SCE

Where you're going matters too. From SCE, the most reliable busy route was to Washington (IAD, 86% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 71%). 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.

Flights into SCE

Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into State College, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (66% on time).

Questions about SCE delays

What is the best time to fly out of SCE?

Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 85% of SCE departures at that hour arrived on time, against 60% at 5 p.m., the worst hour.

What month has the most flight delays at SCE?

January (69% on time). September is the best month (86%).

Which airline is most on time at SCE?

American Airlines: 80% of its SCE departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 77%.

Why are flights delayed at SCE?

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 (22%).

How often are flights cancelled at SCE?

2.8% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.1%.

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.