New York JFK: On-Time Departures
How reliable is New York's JFK for departures? The on-time and cancellation numbers it actually delivered last month, from U.S. government flight data.
Are there delays at JFK today?
New York (JFK) JFK ran 77.6% of departures on time in June 2026, ranking 8 of 30 major US airports, with 2.02% of flights cancelled, across 8,750 flights (U.S. DOT). Live FAA delay programs for today load below.
Source: FAA Airport Status, polled live. What this does and does not tell you: the FAA feed reports air-traffic management programs — ground stops, ground delays and closures issued for an airport. It does not list individual flights. So "no program in effect" means the FAA is not currently metering traffic into New York (JFK); individual flights can still be late for weather, crew or aircraft reasons that never appear in this feed. For how often JFK runs late over a full month, the U.S. DOT figures below are the better measure.
What JFK actually delivered
In June 2026, 77.6% of the 8,750 flights scheduled to depart New York's JFK pushed back within 15 minutes of schedule, and 2.02% were cancelled — putting JFK at the more reliable end of the major US airports that month (#8 of 30 major US airports). These figures are computed by The Sales Traveler from the raw U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time dataset. On-time departure = flights that pushed back within 15 minutes of schedule (DepDel15=0), as a share of non-cancelled departures from the airport. Cancellation rate = cancelled flights divided by scheduled departures. Major US airports only (at least 6,000 scheduled departures in the month). Computed by The Sales Traveler from the raw BTS on-time dataset for the month.
What that means for a business trip through JFK
Departing on time is the number that decides whether you make a connection or a same-day return. JFK's standing here is a point in its favor, a morning departure has better-than-average odds of leaving on schedule. Departure reliability shifts month to month with weather and operations, so this updates as new DOT data publishes. For live conditions, see the flight-delay tracker.
Which airline you fly still matters
Airport reliability sets the baseline; the carrier you book moves it. The same departure bank can run smoothly for one airline and poorly for another. Cross-reference this with the airline reliability scorecards — on-time and cancellation rates for every major US carrier, computed from the same U.S. DOT record, before you book a schedule-critical trip through JFK.
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