Best time to fly out of Nashville (BNA)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Nashville: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 93.5% of the time, against 55.3% in the 10pm–12am 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 93 93 94 95 94 92 93
6–8am 88 92 92 91 90 90 91
8–10am 86 90 91 89 87 88 88
10am–12pm 82 85 86 83 81 84 83
12–2pm 75 82 81 77 74 78 76
2–4pm 70 76 76 71 68 75 67
4–6pm 66 72 72 64 64 70 60
6–8pm 65 71 70 61 65 65 57
8–10pm 64 71 67 58 63 59 54
10pm–12am 59 60 70 57 59 51 50
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at BNA was Before 6am — 93.5% of departures left on time across 11,644 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 55.3%. 6–8am departures from BNA left on time 90.5% of the time across 46,506 flights; 6–8pm departures, 64.8% across 38,872. That is a gap of 25.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at BNA

June was the hard month at BNA: 67.9% of departures left on time, across 28,018 flights. September was the easy one at 82.8%. 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, 77%.
Departure on-time share at BNA by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 80.1% 22,813
February 82.2% 21,464
March 76.5% 26,564
April 78.9% 26,695
May 69.7% 28,083
June 67.9% 28,018
July 68.9% 26,926
August 79.5% 25,985
September 82.8% 25,040
October 80.5% 27,749
November 82.5% 25,124
December 77% 25,086

Airlines at BNA

Every airline with at least 100 departures from BNA, 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
Southwest Airlines 73.9% 49 min 0.8% 164,618
Delta Air Lines 87.1% 83 min 1.1% 26,073
American Airlines 76.8% 102 min 2% 25,993
United Airlines 80.6% 86 min 1.4% 19,196
Republic Airways 84.2% 74 min 2.6% 18,737
SkyWest Airlines 81.7% 105 min 1.7% 10,756
Spirit Airlines 73.7% 77 min 2.7% 9,608
Allegiant Air 80.3% 95 min 0.9% 8,269
Envoy Air 79.1% 65 min 2.1% 7,531
PSA Airlines 75.5% 86 min 3.9% 6,688
JetBlue Airways 72.1% 88 min 2.5% 4,341
Alaska Airlines 78% 50 min 1% 3,449
Frontier Airlines 75.7% 88 min 2.1% 2,488
Endeavor Air 81.8% 113 min 3% 1,800

What delays out of BNA were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 64,815 flights that departed BNA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 29.3% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 46.2% Airline operations 29.3% Air traffic & airport volume 20.2% Severe weather 4.2% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 46.2%
  • Airline operations 29.3%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 20.2%
  • Severe weather 4.2%
  • 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 BNA

Of 309,534 scheduled arrivals into BNA, 77.8% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 64,164 arrivals that ran late, 56.9% 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 BNA

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.

BNA in one number

Nashville (BNA)

Rank 22 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.

July 2023–June 2026 · 305,401 departures flown

77% of departures left on time

Questions about BNA

What is the best time of day to fly out of Nashville?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 93.5% of the time across 11,644 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 55.3%.
Is the early flight out of BNA really more reliable?
6–8am departures from BNA left on time 90.5% of the time across 46,506 flights; 6–8pm departures, 64.8% across 38,872. That is a gap of 25.7 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of BNA?
June: 67.9% of the departures that flew left on time, with 28,018 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 82.8%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at BNA?
Delta Air Lines — 87.1% of its 26,073 departures from BNA left on time. JetBlue Airways sat at the other end at 72.1% over 4,341 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at BNA?
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.