Airport month record
JFKOCT
John F. Kennedy International in October 2025
- Departures
- 8,928
- Month
- October 2025
- National, same month
- 79.7%
- Carriers
- 7
Historical statistics for October 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s October. For today’s conditions at JFK, see live FAA status.
JFK in October sits in the middle of the pack with a C. Close to three flights in four arrive on time by the DOT's definition, 6 points worse than the national rate of 79.7%. The late ones land a little over an hour behind schedule. That rests on 8,928 flights, of which Republic Airways flew 1,389 at 77.3% on time.
Republic Airways is the most reliable of the four carriers covered here at 77.3% on time across 1,389 flights.
Key figures
On time
74.2%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 8,779 completed departures
Avg delay
69 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.46%
Nationally in October: 0.53%
Whole year
75.7%
JFK across all twelve months
These figures cover 8,928 departures from John F. Kennedy International in October 2025. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
October next to JFK's other months
Against JFK's own year, October ran 2 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 75.7%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for JFK in October, at 1.46% against 3.06% across the year. Either side of it, September ran 81.8% on time and November 75.8%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 9,262 | 67.8% | 91 min | 6.23% | C− |
| August 2025 | 9,110 | 79.0% | 75 min | 0.92% | B+ |
| September 2025 | 8,567 | 81.8% | 74 min | 0.74% | B+ |
| October 2025 (this page) | 8,928 | 74.2% | 69 min | 1.46% | C |
| November 2025 | 8,626 | 75.8% | 72 min | 2.83% | B |
| December 2025 | 8,856 | 65.6% | 76 min | 4.02% | C− |
| January 2026 | 8,022 | 73.6% | 69 min | 7.12% | C− |
| February 2026 | 7,458 | 75.2% | 74 min | 8.76% | B− |
| March 2026 | 8,392 | 76.4% | 75 min | 2.10% | B |
| April 2026 | 8,254 | 81.6% | 59 min | 0.24% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 8,535 | 82.1% | 73 min | 1.08% | B |
| June 2026 | 8,750 | 75.0% | 78 min | 2.02% | B |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave JFK in October
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 25 points, against 6 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,359 flights87.6%
- 8am–11am1,610 flights80.9%
- 11am–2pm1,569 flights80.3%
- 2pm–5pm1,571 flights68.4%
- 5pm–8pm1,629 flights62.4%
- 8pm–5am1,190 flights64.7%
Scale runs 55% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
The 5pm–8pm window is where this operation falls apart: 62.4% on time, against 87.6% for the 5am–8am slot. By evening the aircraft flying these rotations have absorbed a full day of small delays and there is no slack left to recover in. The 5pm–8pm window is the busiest, with 1,629 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 84.0% on time and Sunday the weakest at 64.9%. 19 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at JFK in October
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Republic Airways arrives on time 77.3% of the time; JetBlue Airways manages 70.9%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,986 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 2,986 | 70.9% | 66 min | 1.41% | C |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,643 | 77.2% | 70 min | 1.29% | B |
| Republic Airways | 1,389 | 77.3% | 66 min | 2.45% | B |
| American Airlines | 1,240 | 76.6% | 70 min | 1.05% | B |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 338 | 63.7% | 57 min | 1.78% | D |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 301 | 68.0% | 126 min | 0.33% | C+ |
| Hawaiian Airlinesthin sample | 31 | 58.1% | 36 min | 0.00% | D+ |
Republic leads JetBlue by 6 points. Real, but small enough that a better departure time on the weaker carrier can outweigh it.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of JFK in October
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK to LAX · Los Angeles | 897 | 74.7% | 63 min | 0.78% | C+ |
| JFK to SFO · San Francisco | 611 | 72.3% | 78 min | 0.49% | C+ |
| JFK to BOS · Boston | 556 | 68.8% | 85 min | 2.52% | C |
| JFK to ATL · Atlanta | 402 | 74.7% | 76 min | 0.75% | C+ |
| JFK to MCO · Orlando | 373 | 70.0% | 64 min | 1.34% | C |
| JFK to MIA · Miami | 372 | 72.0% | 68 min | 1.08% | C |
| JFK to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 345 | 77.5% | 55 min | 1.45% | B |
| JFK to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 279 | 71.6% | 64 min | 1.43% | C |
| JFK to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 273 | 76.7% | 49 min | 1.83% | B |
| JFK to SJU · San Juanthin sample | 271 | 62.7% | 95 min | 0.74% | D+ |
| JFK to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 249 | 73.4% | 65 min | 2.81% | C |
| JFK to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 235 | 75.2% | 65 min | 1.70% | B |
| JFK to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 217 | 77.7% | 49 min | 0.92% | B+ |
| JFK to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 213 | 73.2% | 47 min | 0.94% | C+ |
| JFK to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 195 | 72.6% | 48 min | 2.56% | C |
| JFK to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 186 | 65.6% | 72 min | 2.69% | C |
| JFK to AUS · Austinthin sample | 184 | 82.2% | 124 min | 1.63% | B |
| JFK to PIT · Pittsburghthin sample | 183 | 77.0% | 81 min | 2.73% | B |
| JFK to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 179 | 74.0% | 79 min | 1.12% | C |
| JFK to TPA · Tampathin sample | 173 | 76.9% | 92 min | 1.73% | B |
| JFK to PBI · West Palm Beachthin sample | 164 | 72.8% | 51 min | 2.44% | C |
| JFK to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 157 | 77.1% | 54 min | 2.55% | B |
| JFK to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 156 | 80.6% | 53 min | 0.64% | B+ |
| JFK to CMH · Columbusthin sample | 155 | 75.7% | 65 min | 1.94% | B |
| JFK to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 153 | 81.6% | 65 min | 0.65% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held JFK up in October
Carriers report a reason for every delay minute they cause, in five DOT categories. The split below is by minutes, not by number of flights, so a handful of very long weather delays weighs as much as many short ones. It covers 157,000 reported delay minutes.
- 35%National Airspace System
- 33%Late-arriving aircraft
- 31%Carrier
- 1%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
35% of delay minutes are charged to the National Airspace System: air traffic volume, runway configuration, ground stops. No carrier can price its way out of that, which is why airport choice moves the number here more than carrier choice does. That is 55,000 minutes out of 157,000, against a national NAS share of 23%. The split is drawn from 157,035 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.46% against a national 0.53%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.21%.
8.7% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 6.3%. That is the figure that decides a connection, and it says a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from JFK in October
For a October trip through JFK: expect 74.2% on time and 1.46% cancelled, going by October 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- John F. Kennedy International (JFK), the whole year
- JFK in July67.8%
- JFK in August79.0%
- JFK in September81.8%
- JFK in November75.8%
- JFK in December65.6%
- JFK in January73.6%
- JFK in February75.2%
- JFK in March76.4%
- JFK in April81.6%
- JFK in May82.1%
- JFK in June75.0%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.