Best time to fly out of Charlottesville (CHO)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Charlottesville Albemarle: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.5% of the time, against 75.6% in the 4–6pm 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 6–8am | 91 | 92 | 93 | 97 | 89 | 90 | 89 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 89 | 91 | 88 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 89 | 82 | 91 | 87 | 77 | – | 87 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 78 | 84 | 81 | 68 | 79 | 83 |
| 4–6pm | 77 | 79 | 83 | 74 | 73 | 71 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at CHO was 6–8am — 91.5% of departures left on time across 1,693 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 75.6%.
The year at CHO
July was the hard month at CHO: 76.4% of departures left on time, across 632 flights. October was the easy one at 90.7%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79.3% | 449 |
| February | 86.8% | 433 |
| March | 80.5% | 512 |
| April | 81% | 556 |
| May | 80.4% | 563 |
| June | 82.4% | 504 |
| July | 76.4% | 632 |
| August | 84.7% | 629 |
| September | 86.9% | 601 |
| October | 90.7% | 798 |
| November | 90.3% | 739 |
| December | 76.5% | 660 |
Airlines at CHO
Every airline with at least 100 departures from CHO, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Endeavor Air | 86.5% | 93 min | 2.6% | 2,583 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 78.5% | 127 min | 2.9% | 2,380 |
| Republic Airways | 81.9% | 88 min | 4.7% | 1,295 |
| Delta Air Lines | 89.2% | 130 min | 1% | 672 |
| PSA Airlines | 92.3% | — | 2.1% | 146 |
A dash under typical delay means fewer than 30 of that airline’s departures ran 15 minutes late or more — too few to average.
What delays out of CHO were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,439 flights that departed CHO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41% put down to airline operations and 28.7% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 28.7%
- Airline operations 41%
- Air traffic & airport volume 24.4%
- Severe weather 5.8%
- Security 0%
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 CHO
Of 7,077 scheduled arrivals into CHO, 77.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,371 arrivals that ran late, 55% 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 CHO
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.
CHO in one number
Charlottesville Albemarle (CHO)
Rank 186 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about CHO
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Charlottesville Albemarle?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.5% of the time across 1,693 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 75.6%.
- What is the worst month to fly out of CHO?
- July: 76.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 632 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 90.7%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at CHO?
- PSA Airlines — 92.3% of its 146 departures from CHO left on time. SkyWest Airlines sat at the other end at 78.5% over 2,380 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at CHO?
- 2.9% 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.