Airport month record
PBIDEC
Palm Beach International in December 2025
- Departures
- 3,186
- Month
- December 2025
- National, same month
- 73.2%
- Carriers
- 8
Historical statistics for December 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s December. For today’s conditions at PBI, see live FAA status.
PBI in December sits in the middle of the pack with a C. About seven flights in ten arrive on time by the DOT's definition, 2 points worse than the national rate of 73.2%. The late ones land a little over an hour behind schedule. That rests on 3,186 flights, of which American Airlines flew 683 at 78.0% on time.
American Airlines is the most reliable of the four carriers covered here at 78.0% on time across 683 flights.
Key figures
On time
71.7%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 3,115 completed departures
Avg delay
79 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.95%
Nationally in December: 1.55%
Whole year
75.1%
PBI across all twelve months
These figures cover 3,186 departures from Palm Beach International in December 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
December next to PBI's other months
Against PBI's own year, December ran 3 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 75.1%, which makes it number nine of eleven months, best first. Either side of it, November ran 76.8% on time and January 74.7%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 1,818 | 82.2% | 74 min | 0.44% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 2,268 | 78.1% | 78 min | 0.88% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 2,792 | 76.8% | 89 min | 2.11% | B |
| December 2025 (this page) | 3,186 | 71.7% | 79 min | 1.95% | C |
| January 2026 | 3,108 | 74.7% | 79 min | 5.50% | C− |
| February 2026 | 2,973 | 73.8% | 78 min | 4.78% | C− |
| March 2026 | 3,385 | 69.1% | 79 min | 3.49% | C− |
| April 2026 | 3,067 | 71.3% | 75 min | 0.62% | C+ |
| May 2026 | 2,545 | 83.1% | 79 min | 0.98% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 2,154 | 79.1% | 90 min | 1.81% | B |
| July 2026 | 2,102 | 71.8% | 101 min | 5.33% | C− |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave PBI in December
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 33 points, against 12 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am462 flights92.7%
- 8am–11am503 flights85.4%
- 11am–2pm733 flights71.2%
- 2pm–5pm570 flights61.7%
- 5pm–8pm658 flights59.9%
- 8pm–5am260 flights60.3%
Scale runs 50% to 100%.
The 5pm–8pm window is where this operation falls apart: 59.9% on time, against 92.7% 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 11am–2pm window is the busiest, with 733 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 87.8% on time and Sunday the weakest at 51.6%, a spread of 36 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at PBI in December
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. American Airlines arrives on time 78.0% of the time; JetBlue Airways manages 66.1%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 910 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JetBlue Airways | 910 | 66.1% | 79 min | 2.53% | C |
| American Airlines | 683 | 78.0% | 78 min | 1.02% | B |
| Delta Air Lines | 636 | 73.0% | 76 min | 2.83% | C |
| United Airlines | 507 | 74.6% | 93 min | 0.99% | C+ |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 261 | 70.3% | 58 min | 0.77% | C+ |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 75 | 56.3% | 115 min | 5.33% | D− |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 59 | 75.0% | 69 min | 5.08% | B− |
| Allegiant Airthin sample | 55 | 65.5% | 71 min | 0.00% | C+ |
American leads JetBlue by 12 points. Real, but small enough that a better departure time on the weaker carrier can outweigh it.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of PBI in December
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBI to EWR · Newark | 393 | 70.6% | 81 min | 2.04% | C |
| PBI to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 321 | 65.1% | 83 min | 4.05% | C− |
| PBI to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 320 | 80.9% | 70 min | 3.44% | B− |
| PBI to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 240 | 64.8% | 78 min | 1.67% | D |
| PBI to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 212 | 68.0% | 85 min | 2.83% | C |
| PBI to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 190 | 68.9% | 78 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| PBI to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 158 | 84.2% | 58 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| PBI to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 156 | 75.8% | 91 min | 2.56% | B |
| PBI to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 155 | 77.9% | 106 min | 0.65% | B+ |
| PBI to HPN · White Plainsthin sample | 153 | 61.1% | 84 min | 3.27% | D− |
| PBI to ISP · Islipthin sample | 133 | 65.6% | 68 min | 1.50% | C |
| PBI to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 126 | 77.6% | 71 min | 0.79% | B+ |
| PBI to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 108 | 67.0% | 64 min | 1.85% | C |
| PBI to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 65 | 86.2% | 96 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| PBI to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 58 | 81.0% | 78 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| PBI to BDL · Hartfordthin sample | 50 | 77.6% | 70 min | 2.00% | B |
| PBI to DEN · Denverthin sample | 45 | 74.4% | 103 min | 2.22% | C |
| PBI to IAD · Washingtonthin sample | 44 | 81.8% | 90 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| PBI to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 43 | 60.5% | 52 min | 0.00% | D+ |
| PBI to PVD · Providencethin sample | 32 | 51.6% | 75 min | 3.12% | F− |
| PBI to ACY · Atlantic Citythin sample | 32 | 74.2% | 92 min | 3.12% | C− |
| PBI to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 31 | 67.7% | 28 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| PBI to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 31 | 83.9% | 56 min | 0.00% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held PBI up in December
Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 57% of the 70,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 57%Late-arriving aircraft
- 25%Carrier
- 16%National Airspace System
- 1%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
57% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 70,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 57 to one. The split is drawn from 70,000 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.95% against a national 1.55%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.28%.
12.2% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 10.0% nationally. Ninety minutes is the honest minimum for a connection here, and two hours if the onward flight is on a separate ticket.
What to do with this
Flying from PBI in December
For a December trip through PBI: plan on this being one of the airport's harder months. The 5am–8am departures held up best at 92.7% on time, and with 12.2% of arrivals an hour or more late, a connection here deserves more slack than the same trip in May would.
Related
Where to go next
- Palm Beach International (PBI), the whole year
- PBI in September82.2%
- PBI in October78.1%
- PBI in November76.8%
- PBI in January74.7%
- PBI in February73.8%
- PBI in March69.1%
- PBI in April71.3%
- PBI in May83.1%
- PBI in June79.1%
- PBI in July71.8%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.