April 15, 2026, 12:43 pm | Read time: 4 minutes

Flying late at night is not necessarily pleasant given the evening fatigue. If the flight is canceled just before midnight, chaos ensues. This is not even unlikely, as a study of 2025 flight data by the travel technology company Airhelp has shown. According to this, flights scheduled between 11 p.m. and midnight are most likely to be canceled or delayed. A full 39 percent of flights during this time frame are disrupted. Between 11 p.m. and 11:15 p.m., it’s nearly 44 percent. And these aren’t the only times that can be inconvenient for passengers.

Most Disruptions Occur at Night and on Fridays

A poor, disruption-prone time frame is also the afternoon hour between 3 p.m. and 4 p.m. Nearly 38 percent of flights are delayed or even canceled then. The most disruption-prone day for departures from Germany is Friday, with nearly one-third of flights delayed or canceled. Saturday is similarly unreliable, with disruption rates at 28.5 percent.

Throughout the year, December is particularly disruption-prone according to the Airhelp study. Here, 36 percent of all flights are affected by delays or cancellations. July is also highly disruption-prone at 35 percent, as is September at 34 percent.

Up to Two Hours Delay at Night

Delays of a few minutes are probably not a big deal for most, but that’s not the issue, at least when it comes to late evening or nighttime delays. According to flight disruption experts, delays and cancellations occur more frequently at night, and the delays are significantly longer. The longest delays average 72 minutes, occurring between 11 p.m. and midnight. The most problematic time is the quarter-hour between 11:30 p.m. and 11:45 p.m., where passengers had to wait an average of 111 minutes. According to Airhelp, about six percent of all flights at 11:45 p.m. depart more than two hours late. At 11:30 p.m., this rate is five percent, and at 10:45 p.m., it’s four percent.

Those flying slightly earlier or later can expect wait times of nearly an hour: Between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., they average 57 minutes, and at 1 a.m., 53 minutes. However, at 9:30 p.m., only 0.3 percent of flights are affected by wait times around the two-hour mark.

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And how do these sometimes high cancellation and wait times occur? “Flight schedules are tightly packed and sensitive to disruptions,” explains Airhelp’s CEO Tomasz Pawliszyn. Even small delays in the morning can “snowball” throughout the day, leading to significantly more affected late departures. Added to this are the high demand on Fridays and seasonal factors. He recommends: “Travelers can actively manage this risk by choosing earlier departure times and less busy travel days.”

Also interesting: These airports in Europe offer the best service to passengers at departure

When Are the Best Times to Fly?

The best time of day to fly out of Germany without disruptions is early in the morning: According to Airhelp, flights at 5 a.m. experience the fewest disruptions at around 12 percent, and at 4 a.m., disruptions are below 13 percent. The best, most disruption-free time frame is between 4:30 a.m. and 4:45 a.m. Within this quarter-hour, the disruption rate is only seven percent. For those who don’t want to leave quite so early but also want to avoid disruptions, it’s important to know: The rate starts to rise from 6 a.m.; at this time, it’s 18 percent. The shortest wait times, according to the study, are between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. During this time of day, passengers wait an average of about 40 minutes.

The best day to fly is Tuesday, with about one-fifth of flights experiencing disruptions (22 percent); the least disruption-prone season is spring. In February, 17.6 percent of all flights are delayed or canceled. In March, this rate is 17.8 percent, and in April, it’s 18.2 percent.