Sky Harbor (PHX) Flight Delays: Rate, Worst Hours and Live Risk
Sky Harbor (PHX) is ranked 19 of 22 for delays among DelayGuard's guide airports (1 is the highest rate): 19.2% of flights departing PHX arrived 15 or more minutes late across 561,852 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Southwest Airlines operated 34.8% of those departures, with a 21.4% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 7 PM (27.4%) and 6 PM (27.3%); 5 AM is the best at 5.4%. 0.66% of scheduled PHX departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the US domestic delay forecast before you book.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-18. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Layover buffer
Chance an inbound arrival is 45+ min late at PHX: 8.43%.
47,359 of 562,016 arrivals, January 2023 to December 2025. Not a missed-connection rate.
Flight delays today at PHX
FAA now: No FAA program
Tomorrow: Typical
October delay rate: 18.0%
FAA now is the current National Airspace System program.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) at PHX
Sample size: 561,852 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 19.2%. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Cancellation rate 0.66% of 390,307 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why PHX runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates PHX. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Southwest Airlines (34.8%), American Airlines (29.0%) and SkyWest Airlines (12.7%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
PHX delays peak in July (25.2%), June (23.2%) and May (20.9%) and are lowest in September (15.3%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 7.8% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 23.5% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Best and worst times to fly from PHX
| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 14.3% | 3,180 |
| 1 AM | 19.6% | 209 |
| 5 AM | 5.4% | 13,271 |
| 6 AM | 6.1% | 25,244 |
| 7 AM | 9.6% | 30,287 |
| 8 AM | 12.6% | 47,529 |
| 9 AM | 14.3% | 39,483 |
| 10 AM | 16.0% | 40,027 |
| 11 AM | 17.1% | 33,122 |
| 12 PM | 19.6% | 29,498 |
| 1 PM | 19.5% | 33,728 |
| 2 PM | 22.6% | 28,985 |
| 3 PM | 25.0% | 35,443 |
| 4 PM | 24.8% | 37,622 |
| 5 PM | 24.5% | 30,406 |
| 6 PM | 27.3% | 29,226 |
| 7 PM | 27.4% | 28,885 |
| 8 PM | 25.8% | 30,298 |
| 9 PM | 25.1% | 19,481 |
| 10 PM | 23.1% | 13,141 |
| 11 PM | 16.2% | 12,786 |
PHX delays and cancellations by month
| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17.3% | 45,200 | 1.48% |
| Feb | 16.3% | 43,616 | 0.31% |
| Mar | 20.9% | 51,756 | 0.51% |
| Apr | 18.9% | 49,304 | 0.33% |
| May | 20.9% | 48,214 | 0.52% |
| Jun | 23.2% | 43,875 | 0.52% |
| Jul | 25.2% | 44,791 | 1.29% |
| Aug | 19.8% | 43,610 | 0.55% |
| Sep | 15.3% | 42,847 | 0.62% |
| Oct | 18.0% | 48,926 | 0.23% |
| Nov | 16.1% | 48,995 | 1.23% |
| Dec | 18.2% | 50,718 | 0.41% |
Airlines at PHX
| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 34.8% | 21.4% | 195,654 | 0.59% |
| American Airlines | 29.0% | 20.3% | 162,686 | 0.62% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 12.7% | 14.8% | 71,484 | 0.48% |
| Delta Air Lines | 5.6% | 12.3% | 31,453 | 0.66% |
| United Airlines | 5.3% | 15.9% | 29,576 | 1.14% |
| Frontier Airlines | 4.4% | 22.4% | 24,987 | 1.10% |
| Envoy Air | 4.0% | 14.2% | 22,247 | 0.50% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2.7% | 16.7% | 15,028 | 1.27% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 0.6% | 28.0% | 3,518 | 1.78% |
| JetBlue Airways | 0.5% | 31.1% | 2,932 | 1.09% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from PHX
| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHX to DEN | 21.1% | 27,368 | 1.03% | Route page |
| PHX to SEA | 17.1% | 21,343 | 0.62% | Route page |
| PHX to LAX | 16.9% | 21,231 | 0.43% | Route page |
| PHX to LAS | 23.2% | 20,213 | 0.79% | Route page |
| PHX to ORD | 18.6% | 17,113 | 1.17% | Route page |
| PHX to SLC | 15.4% | 16,670 | 0.35% | Predict |
| PHX to SAN | 23.1% | 16,548 | 0.92% | Predict |
| PHX to DFW | 20.4% | 14,845 | 1.70% | Route page |
| PHX to SFO | 27.4% | 13,759 | 0.67% | Route page |
| PHX to SNA | 17.6% | 12,963 | 0.44% | Predict |
| PHX to PDX | 18.7% | 11,103 | 0.61% | Predict |
| PHX to ATL | 16.8% | 10,995 | 0.66% | Route page |
| PHX to SMF | 18.9% | 10,619 | 0.22% | Predict |
| PHX to AUS | 20.5% | 10,004 | 0.48% | Predict |
| PHX to MSP | 16.0% | 9,863 | 0.48% | Predict |
- Summer thunderstorm delays: which airports suffer most
- Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 flight delay guide
- US airline cancellation rates
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at PHX?
- 19.2% of flights departing PHX arrived 15 or more minutes late across 561,852 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from PHX?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 5.4% late (13,271 flights), 6 AM flights ran 6.1% late (25,244 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 9.6% late (30,287 flights). The worst hours are 7 PM (27.4%), 6 PM (27.3%) and 8 PM (25.8%).
- Which month is worst for delays at PHX?
- July has the highest delay rate at 25.2%. September is the lowest at 15.3%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at PHX?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from PHX, Delta Air Lines has the lowest delay rate at 12.3% (31,453 flights). Frontier Airlines is highest at 22.4%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are PHX flights cancelled?
- 0.66% of 390,307 scheduled departures from PHX were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at PHX?
- Yes. The live module on this page shows DelayGuard's hourly risk score and any active FAA ground stop or ground delay program. It is separate from the historical BTS figures above. For a specific flight, the predictor gives a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data.
- Why does PHX have delays?
- No single carrier dominates PHX. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Southwest Airlines (34.8%), American Airlines (29.0%) and SkyWest Airlines (12.7%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule. PHX delays peak in July (25.2%), June (23.2%) and May (20.9%) and are lowest in September (15.3%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.