Best time to fly out of Piedmont Triad (GSO)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Piedmont Triad: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.9% of the time, against 71.7% 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.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 89 | 93 | 95 | 92 | 95 | 91 | 96 |
| 6–8am | 92 | 92 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 92 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 89 | 88 | 95 | 96 | 92 | 91 | 91 |
| 10am–12pm | 86 | 86 | 86 | 87 | 83 | 85 | 89 |
| 12–2pm | 85 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 85 | 84 | 85 |
| 2–4pm | 81 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 77 | 86 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 79 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 79 | 71 |
| 6–8pm | 74 | 77 | 79 | 74 | 74 | 74 | 70 |
| 8–10pm | 74 | – | – | 73 | 72 | – | 68 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at GSO was Before 6am — 92.9% of departures left on time across 2,209 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 71.7%. 6–8am departures from GSO left on time 92.5% of the time across 8,912 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.6% across 4,294. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at GSO
July was the hard month at GSO: 78.4% of departures left on time, across 2,873 flights. September was the easy one at 88.6%. 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 | 85.3% | 2,425 |
| February | 87.6% | 2,354 |
| March | 86.3% | 2,635 |
| April | 86.6% | 2,757 |
| May | 83.2% | 2,873 |
| June | 79.9% | 2,689 |
| July | 78.4% | 2,873 |
| August | 83.5% | 2,905 |
| September | 88.6% | 2,841 |
| October | 88.4% | 3,164 |
| November | 88.2% | 2,925 |
| December | 83.6% | 2,616 |
Airlines at GSO
Every airline with at least 100 departures from GSO, 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 | 87.7% | 85 min | 1.4% | 7,555 |
| Republic Airways | 85.9% | 82 min | 4.2% | 5,765 |
| PSA Airlines | 85.3% | 102 min | 2.4% | 5,605 |
| Envoy Air | 86.9% | 80 min | 1.5% | 4,750 |
| American Airlines | 75.3% | 97 min | 2.5% | 3,718 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 85.3% | 94 min | 1.5% | 2,898 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.5% | 75 min | 2.7% | 2,405 |
| Allegiant Air | 62.6% | 98 min | 1.4% | 361 |
What delays out of GSO were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,536 flights that departed GSO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.2% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 37.8%
- Airline operations 34.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 18.5%
- Severe weather 9.4%
- 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 GSO
Of 33,056 scheduled arrivals into GSO, 77.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 6,564 arrivals that ran late, 51.9% 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 GSO
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 89.3% on time · 7,662 flights
- LGA 82.7% on time · 5,718 flights
- CLT 80% on time · 5,673 flights
- ORD 78.3% on time · 3,855 flights
- DFW 76.7% on time · 2,679 flights
- DCA 78.2% on time · 2,396 flights
- MIA 89.1% on time · 1,301 flights
- EWR 87.8% on time · 1,166 flights
- DTW 84.1% on time · 1,124 flights
- DEN 89.2% on time · 831 flights
GSO in one number
Piedmont Triad (GSO)
Rank 99 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about GSO
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Piedmont Triad?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.9% of the time across 2,209 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 71.7%.
- Is the early flight out of GSO really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from GSO left on time 92.5% of the time across 8,912 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.6% across 4,294. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of GSO?
- July: 78.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,873 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at GSO?
- Delta Air Lines — 87.7% of its 7,555 departures from GSO left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 62.6% over 361 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at GSO?
- 2.3% 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.