More U.S. flights arrived late in June than the month before, continuing a string of poor performances by the nation's airlines.

The government says that in the first six months of the year, the rate of late flights was the highest since 2008 and cancelations were the highest since 2000.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said Thursday that among airlines reporting figures, 71.8 percent of flights arrived on time in June, down from 76.9 percent the month before and 71.9 percent in June 2013.

Hawaiian Airlines and Alaska Airlines had the best on-time ratings, with Delta leading the biggest carriers. Regional airlines Envoy and ExpressJet and Southwest Airlines were at the bottom of the rankings.