Best time to fly out of Atlanta (ATL)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.6% of the time, against 71.2% in the 6–8pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

On-time rate by hour and day

On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 87 88 88 89 86 86 84
6–8am 88 91 91 91 89 88 88
8–10am 85 89 90 88 87 87 86
10am–12pm 81 86 87 85 83 82 82
12–2pm 81 85 86 84 81 81 79
2–4pm 76 80 82 78 76 78 73
4–6pm 73 77 79 74 73 74 68
6–8pm 70 76 77 69 69 73 65
8–10pm 71 77 78 70 70 74 65
10pm–12am 73 81 82 72 71 79 66
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at ATL was 6–8am — 89.6% of departures left on time across 62,285 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 71.2%. 6–8am departures from ATL left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 108,747. That is a gap of 18.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at ATL

July was the hard month at ATL: 67.5% of departures left on time, across 88,542 flights. October was the easy one at 86%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 79.1%.
Departure on-time share at ATL by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 78.6% 74,791
February 82.6% 70,485
March 78.2% 81,596
April 81.3% 80,516
May 75.1% 84,680
June 74.5% 84,050
July 67.5% 88,542
August 77.3% 86,264
September 85.1% 82,430
October 86% 86,644
November 85.7% 81,376
December 78.7% 82,805

Airlines at ATL

Every airline with at least 100 departures from ATL, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.

Airline Left on time Typical delay Cancelled Departures
Delta Air Lines 80.8% 60 min 1.2% 695,955
Southwest Airlines 74.4% 51 min 0.8% 82,802
Frontier Airlines 62.1% 82 min 2.5% 43,901
Endeavor Air 87.4% 72 min 0.9% 37,949
Spirit Airlines 69.7% 68 min 1.8% 26,429
SkyWest Airlines 77.5% 104 min 1.4% 23,479
United Airlines 82% 89 min 1.5% 22,421
American Airlines 78.2% 107 min 1.8% 22,174
JetBlue Airways 70.2% 90 min 2.3% 8,573
PSA Airlines 77% 100 min 3.6% 8,243
Republic Airways 83.2% 84 min 3.3% 5,498
Alaska Airlines 76.7% 55 min 1.1% 4,180
Envoy Air 79% 75 min 2.6% 2,575

What delays out of ATL were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 202,775 flights that departed ATL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.2% put down to airline operations and 29.3% to late-arriving aircraft.

Late-arriving aircraft 29.3% Airline operations 44.2% Air traffic & airport volume 20.4% Severe weather 6% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 29.3%
  • Airline operations 44.2%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 20.4%
  • Severe weather 6%
  • Security 0.1%

Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.

If you are connecting through ATL

Of 984,098 scheduled arrivals into ATL, 81.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 168,280 arrivals that ran late, 52.5% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.

Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.

Busiest routes out of ATL

Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.

ATL in one number

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta (ATL)

Rank 1 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 971,552 departures flown

79.1% of departures left on time

Questions about ATL

What is the best time of day to fly out of Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 71.2%.
Is the early flight out of ATL really more reliable?
6–8am departures from ATL left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 108,747. That is a gap of 18.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of ATL?
July: 67.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 88,542 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at ATL?
Endeavor Air — 87.4% of its 37,949 departures from ATL left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 62.1% over 43,901 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at ATL?
1.3% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.