79% of flights leaving Fayetteville (XNA) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 3 points better than the national average of 76%. About 52 flights leave XNA on a typical day; 1.9% were cancelled. 80% 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. (88% on time). Worst: 7 p.m. (62%).
- Best month: October (87%). Worst: July (72%).
- Most reliable airline here: American Airlines (80%), vs United Airlines at 78%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (41% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: about the same (78% → 79%).
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 XNA: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 47% of the time. About 1 in 12 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 49 three hours or more; 1.9% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early79%
- 15–30 min late5.7%
- 30–60 min late5.1%
- 1–2 hours late4.4%
- 2–3 hours late1.7%
- 3+ hours late2.0%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.9%
Share of all 19,100 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of XNA
Time of day matters more at XNA than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 88% of the time; at 7 p.m. it was 62%, a 26-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 86% on time against 70% 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: 7 p.m. departures were cancelled 4.2% of the time, against 1.9% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at XNA was a 5 a.m. departure in October (93% on time); the least, 7 p.m. in July (42%). 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 XNA, with 72% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 87%. Summer (June–August) runs 10 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (4.8% of flights).
Airlines at XNA
American Airlines runs 52% of departures from XNA, so XNA is effectively its hub. When American 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 (78%), a 2-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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,992 | 80% | 80% | 2.3% | −9 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 4,203 | 79% | 80% | 1.4% | −9 min |
| United Airlines | 3,975 | 78% | 81% | 2.0% | −7 min |
| Allegiant Air | 780 | 68% | 71% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 150 | 82% | 79% | 0.0% | −15 min |
Why flights are late at XNA
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At XNA, 41% 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. Of the 372 cancellations, 67% 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 79% of XNA departures were on time, against 78% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was February 2026 (85%); the worst, June 2026 (73%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Jan 24, 2026, when 97% of 36 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 24, 2026 | 36 | 97% | 0% |
| Jan 25, 2026 | 48 | 50% | 17% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 49 | 29% | 35% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 44 | 18% | 48% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 59 | 17% | 31% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 56 | 16% | 41% |
| Mar 7, 2026 | 40 | 15% | 28% |
| Jan 31, 2026 | 36 | 14% | 47% |
| Jun 19, 2026 | 60 | 13% | 55% |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 55 | 11% | 69% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from XNA, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.1% of the time, against 1.8% for its earlier flights (1.7× 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. 2.2% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Philadelphia (6.8% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHL Philadelphia | American Airlines | 1:02 p.m. | 6.8% | 4.8% | 62% |
| LGA New York | American Airlines | 4:40 p.m. | 7.8% | 3.6% | 63% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 6:37 p.m. | 5.8% | 3.6% | 61% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 7:51 p.m. | 4.1% | 3.0% | 63% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 8:18 p.m. | 4.7% | 1.4% | 76% |
| CLT Charlotte | American Airlines | 6:23 p.m. | 2.8% | 1.9% | 74% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 5:59 p.m. | 2.2% | 1.4% | 73% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 5:06 p.m. | 0.8% | 2.2% | 70% |
| MSP Minneapolis | Delta Air Lines | 5:11 p.m. | 0.4% | 2.1% | 76% |
| IAH Houston | United Airlines | 5:12 p.m. | 1.1% | 1.1% | 80% |
| LAX Los Angeles | American Airlines | 3:41 p.m. | 0.0% | 1.0% | 87% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 2:28 p.m. | 0.3% | 0.3% | 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 XNA
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At XNA the 5 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.
- Choosing between airlines? American Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of XNA; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at XNA come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from XNA
Where you're going matters too. From XNA, the most reliable busy route was to Charlotte (CLT, 84% on time) and the least reliable to New York (LGA, 72%). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA New York | 1,266 | 72% | 5.1% | −8 min |
| ORD Chicago | 2,989 | 73% | 2.7% | −6 min |
| DFW Dallas | 3,537 | 78% | 2.5% | −7 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 508 | 79% | 4.5% | −9 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 2,546 | 80% | 1.3% | −8 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 586 | 80% | 1.2% | −10 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,345 | 81% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| IAH Houston | 1,401 | 83% | 1.1% | −11 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,457 | 84% | 2.4% | −12 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 471 | 85% | 0.2% | −5 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 828 | 88% | 0.4% | −10 min |
Flights into XNA
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Northwest Arkansas National, least reliable first. The weakest is from Philadelphia (66% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHL Philadelphia | 510 | 66% | 4.9% |
| ORD Chicago | 2,985 | 72% | 2.4% |
| LGA New York | 1,266 | 73% | 4.6% |
| ATL Atlanta | 2,546 | 76% | 1.4% |
| DFW Dallas | 3,541 | 76% | 2.3% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 586 | 78% | 1.0% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,456 | 79% | 2.3% |
| IAH Houston | 1,401 | 80% | 1.3% |
| DEN Denver | 1,346 | 82% | 0.5% |
| PHX Phoenix | 827 | 84% | 0.4% |
| LAX Los Angeles | 472 | 88% | 0.2% |
Questions about XNA delays
What is the best time to fly out of XNA?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 88% of XNA departures at that hour arrived on time, against 62% at 7 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at XNA?
July (72% on time). October is the best month (87%).
Which airline is most on time at XNA?
American Airlines: 80% of its XNA departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 78%.
Why are flights delayed at XNA?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (41% 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 XNA?
1.9% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 4.8%.
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.