There's a 50% higher chance your flight will be delayed if it leaves after 3 p.m., a new report says

• Flights that depart after 3 p.m. have a 50% higher chance of being delayed, a new report says.

The new 2023 Air Travel Hacks Report from Airlines Reporting Corporation and Expedia released on Wednesday, may confirm some travelers' long-held suspicions: Flights that depart after 3 p.m. have a 50% higher chance of delays.

It's even worse news for cancellations. Flights in the US that depart after 3 p.m. have a 64% higher chance of being canceled on average, according to the report.

The eighth annual report leverages ARC's insights from the world's largest air ticketing dataset which includes more than 15 billion passenger flights on 490 airlines. Flight reliability information in the report is an average based on OAG data from flights that originated in the US during the months of January through August.

Typically, Sundays are the worst for cancellations while Wednesdays are the best – but that can change from week to week and by departing airport, according to ARC.

The bad news isn't limited to the US, either. Airlines around the world have seen higher cancellation rates in 2022 compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019, according to the report.

ARC blamed the increase in flight delays and cancellations on a number of factors, from constrained airline resources and air traffic control issues to aircrew flight time limitations and bad weather. The cascading effect of delays and cancellations multiplies as the day goes on.

Things are getting better

Flight cancellations have decreased considerably, however, in the past six weeks since the ARC data was collected. Global cancellation rates are now much closer to normal levels thanks to additional resources deployed by airlines, airports, and aviation authorities, according to ARC.

Air travel is beginning to normalize after a volatile recovery following the pandemic slowdown. Ticketing data shows a return of business travel following a surge in leisure travel during the first half of 2022. Airline performance has improved as traveler demand and carrier capacity continue to increase, according to the company.

Planning ahead, remaining flexible, and avoiding flights late in the day are the best ways to avoid delays and cancellations, the report recommends to travelers.