Travel Tips: Avoid taking the last flight so that your journey goes more smoothly.

Planning a holiday almost always begins with hunting for the best available plane ticket prices. Many travellers select their departure time based solely on what fits their travel agenda.

However according to travel experts, flight timing has a very significant impact on how smoothly your trip proceeds. Choosing an unsuitable schedule can increase the risk of experiencing delays, missed connecting flights, or even being forced to spend an unplanned night in a transit city.

One departure schedule that is strongly advised to avoid is the very last flight of the day.

Last Daily Flights Carry The Highest Delay Risk

Dean Rotchin, CEO and founder of private aviation company Blackjet, stated that the final evening flight has the highest risk of operational disruptions compared to all other schedules.

"The flight you should avoid above all others is the last scheduled departure of the day. These flights almost always suffer knock-on effects from delays that occurred on earlier flights the same day," he stated, as quoted by Southern Living.

He explained that airline operations function like a domino effect. Aircraft, flight crew, and even departure gates are rotated continuously throughout the entire day.

This means even a single delayed flight from the morning or midday can have cascading impacts that carry through right to the final evening departures.

The Domino Effect Is Very Difficult To Mitigate

Rotchin explained that as evening approaches, airlines have extremely limited capacity to recover from accumulated delays.

A delayed aircraft will disrupt every subsequent schedule it is assigned to, and this is compounded by flight crew who have already been on duty since early morning.

"By the time passengers board these late flights, cabin crew will almost universally have been working since that morning. After a full day of active duty, fatigue will inevitably start to affect their condition," he added.

This combination makes late evening flights far more vulnerable to schedule adjustments or full cancellations if any operational issue occurs.

Risk Of Being Stranded In Transit Cities

Another common problem arises when the final flight of the day is disrupted, or passengers miss their connecting service after taking this late departure.

With no further flights operating for the rest of the night, alternative rebooking options become extremely limited.

"When there are no replacement flights available, missing just one connecting service can leave travellers forced to stay overnight in a city they never intended to visit," Rotchin noted.

Such situations can completely derail holiday plans, particularly for travellers operating on tight, packed itineraries.

Early Morning Flights Also Have Drawbacks

While it is widely believed that the very earliest morning flights are the best option, Rotchin noted this schedule is also not entirely ideal.

He explained that airports operate with heavily reduced staffing levels during the pre-dawn hours.

"That 05:00 AM flight might sound appealing. But at that time, airports run on skeleton staff, most passenger facilities are still closed, and most travellers will also be boarding while still drowsy - making any disruption feel far more stressful," he explained.

Should any technical fault occur, resolution times will also be significantly longer than during normal full airport operating hours.

Avoid Friday Afternoons And Pre-Public Holiday Evenings

Beyond departure time, the day you choose to travel also impacts flight comfort and reliability.

Rotchin identified Friday afternoon as one of the busiest peak periods, being the preferred departure time for both business travellers and people leaving for weekend trips.

"Friday afternoon flights are packed with passengers from every background, from corporate travellers to holidaymakers. This results in full cabins, and overhead luggage space almost always becomes contested," he stated.

The same applies for evenings immediately before major public holidays. Airports operate at maximum capacity during these periods, meaning even minor disruptions such as poor weather can trigger widespread cascading delays.

Mid-Morning Is The Optimal Departure Window

If you have flexible travel arrangements, Rotchin recommends booking a mid-morning flight, at approximately 09:00 local time.

At this time, airports will generally be running at full normal operation, all required staff are on duty, and the daily flight schedule has not yet accumulated any knock-on delays from earlier departures.

He also advises selecting departures on Thursday or Saturday morning to avoid the peak passenger crowds building ahead of the weekend.