Best time to fly out of Charlotte Douglas (CLT)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Charlotte Douglas: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.7% of the time, against 65.5% 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 78 92 92 91 87 86 86
6–8am 89 91 91 92 90 88 88
8–10am 86 88 90 87 87 85 86
10am–12pm 80 85 86 82 81 80 80
12–2pm 77 83 83 79 78 78 76
2–4pm 72 78 79 74 73 73 69
4–6pm 69 75 75 70 68 69 65
6–8pm 66 72 73 65 64 66 61
8–10pm 67 73 73 65 64 65 60
10pm–12am 67 71 72 65 64 64 59
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at CLT was 6–8am — 89.7% of departures left on time across 50,626 flights. The weakest was 10pm–12am at 65.5%. 6–8am departures from CLT left on time 89.7% of the time across 50,626 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.6% across 70,083. That is a gap of 23.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at CLT

July was the hard month at CLT: 61.8% of departures left on time, across 52,466 flights. November was the easy one at 83.9%. 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, 75.5%.
Departure on-time share at CLT by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 78.2% 47,477
February 79.8% 44,565
March 76.2% 50,601
April 77.4% 50,766
May 71.3% 52,912
June 68.6% 50,194
July 61.8% 52,466
August 70.6% 52,097
September 80.2% 50,025
October 82.2% 53,397
November 83.9% 49,168
December 76.3% 49,027

Airlines at CLT

Every airline with at least 100 departures from CLT, 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
American Airlines 73.4% 71 min 1.5% 360,621
PSA Airlines 79.1% 72 min 2% 148,192
Delta Air Lines 83.9% 77 min 0.8% 18,095
Envoy Air 80.4% 64 min 1.6% 17,665
Spirit Airlines 70% 75 min 2.7% 11,820
United Airlines 82.4% 99 min 1.6% 10,689
Southwest Airlines 68.7% 52 min 0.8% 9,837
Republic Airways 83.9% 83 min 2.7% 9,342
Frontier Airlines 67.4% 96 min 3.3% 9,025
Endeavor Air 81.5% 97 min 4.1% 4,537
SkyWest Airlines 77.3% 160 min 2.7% 1,939
JetBlue Airways 72.4% 86 min 2.1% 933

What delays out of CLT were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 147,279 flights that departed CLT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 46.9% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 46.9% Airline operations 30% Air traffic & airport volume 15.2% Severe weather 7.5% Security 0.3%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 46.9%
  • Airline operations 30%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 15.2%
  • Severe weather 7.5%
  • Security 0.3%

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 CLT

Of 602,698 scheduled arrivals into CLT, 78.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 119,276 arrivals that ran late, 51.3% 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 CLT

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.

CLT in one number

Charlotte Douglas (CLT)

Rank 5 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 592,738 departures flown

75.5% of departures left on time

Questions about CLT

What is the best time of day to fly out of Charlotte Douglas?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.7% of the time across 50,626 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 10pm–12am band was the weakest at 65.5%.
Is the early flight out of CLT really more reliable?
6–8am departures from CLT left on time 89.7% of the time across 50,626 flights; 6–8pm departures, 66.6% across 70,083. That is a gap of 23.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of CLT?
July: 61.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 52,466 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 83.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at CLT?
Delta Air Lines — 83.9% of its 18,095 departures from CLT left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 67.4% over 9,025 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
How often are flights cancelled at CLT?
1.7% 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.