Best time to fly out of Cleveland Hopkins (CLE)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Cleveland Hopkins: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.7% of the time, against 63.8% in the 8–10pm 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 91 93 91 93 91 91 91
6–8am 91 93 93 93 91 90 90
8–10am 88 89 91 90 88 87 88
10am–12pm 85 88 89 87 86 85 85
12–2pm 78 83 85 82 79 81 79
2–4pm 78 82 82 80 75 80 74
4–6pm 74 78 79 74 72 75 69
6–8pm 72 77 74 69 69 68 64
8–10pm 61 66 70 64 63 65 61
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at CLE was 6–8am — 91.7% of departures left on time across 27,194 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from CLE left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.2% across 14,663. That is a gap of 21.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at CLE

July was the hard month at CLE: 74% of departures left on time, across 11,052 flights. September was the easy one at 86.9%. 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, 82%.
Departure on-time share at CLE by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 79.8% 8,905
February 84.2% 8,525
March 80.9% 10,444
April 85.1% 10,246
May 82.4% 10,995
June 78.1% 10,905
July 74% 11,052
August 80.5% 10,901
September 86.9% 10,444
October 86.8% 10,925
November 85.6% 9,986
December 80.1% 9,819

Airlines at CLE

Every airline with at least 100 departures from CLE, 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
United Airlines 89.1% 85 min 1% 26,424
Frontier Airlines 72.8% 83 min 2.2% 19,328
Southwest Airlines 81.5% 54 min 0.7% 15,632
American Airlines 81.4% 96 min 1.9% 13,822
Republic Airways 85.6% 76 min 3.3% 13,685
Delta Air Lines 84.5% 73 min 1.1% 9,716
PSA Airlines 76.9% 115 min 5.4% 5,523
SkyWest Airlines 79.2% 101 min 1.5% 5,218
Endeavor Air 85.4% 103 min 2.9% 4,229
Spirit Airlines 76.4% 76 min 1.6% 3,161
Envoy Air 79.1% 68 min 2.5% 2,500
JetBlue Airways 78.8% 84 min 1.7% 2,485
Alaska Airlines 75.8% 47 min 1.5% 1,424

What delays out of CLE were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 22,916 flights that departed CLE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.9% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 39.2% Airline operations 30.9% Air traffic & airport volume 26.1% Severe weather 3.7% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 39.2%
  • Airline operations 30.9%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 26.1%
  • Severe weather 3.7%
  • 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 CLE

Of 123,356 scheduled arrivals into CLE, 76.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 27,022 arrivals that ran late, 52.8% 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 CLE

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.

CLE in one number

Cleveland Hopkins (CLE)

Rank 46 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 120,845 departures flown

82% of departures left on time

Questions about CLE

What is the best time of day to fly out of Cleveland Hopkins?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 63.8%.
Is the early flight out of CLE really more reliable?
6–8am departures from CLE left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.2% across 14,663. That is a gap of 21.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of CLE?
July: 74% of the departures that flew left on time, with 11,052 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 86.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at CLE?
United Airlines — 89.1% of its 26,424 departures from CLE left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 72.8% over 19,328 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at CLE?
1.9% 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.