Best time to fly out of Richmond (RIC)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Richmond: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.1% of the time, against 60.1% 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 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 91 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 89 | 87 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 87 | 88 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 88 | 89 | 85 | 81 | 81 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 86 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 81 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 68 | 75 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 69 | 77 | 77 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 65 |
| 6–8pm | 67 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 66 | 62 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 66 | 71 | 67 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 54 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at RIC was Before 6am — 92.1% of departures left on time across 2,692 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 60.1%. 6–8am departures from RIC left on time 90.1% of the time across 12,982 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68% across 7,864. That is a gap of 22.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at RIC
July was the hard month at RIC: 71.3% of departures left on time, across 4,975 flights. September was the easy one at 85.4%. 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 | 81.7% | 4,027 |
| February | 84.2% | 3,843 |
| March | 79.4% | 4,450 |
| April | 81.9% | 4,548 |
| May | 79% | 4,996 |
| June | 76.3% | 4,937 |
| July | 71.3% | 4,975 |
| August | 78.8% | 4,743 |
| September | 85.4% | 4,550 |
| October | 84.7% | 4,920 |
| November | 85% | 4,646 |
| December | 76.6% | 4,644 |
Airlines at RIC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from RIC, 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 | 79.7% | 93 min | 1.7% | 10,870 |
| Republic Airways | 83.3% | 85 min | 3.9% | 9,772 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.1% | 75 min | 1.2% | 8,195 |
| Southwest Airlines | 75.3% | 52 min | 0.5% | 6,099 |
| JetBlue Airways | 76.7% | 79 min | 2% | 5,594 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.1% | 89 min | 3% | 3,550 |
| United Airlines | 89.3% | 76 min | 1.1% | 2,687 |
| Spirit Airlines | 68.8% | 71 min | 1.9% | 2,626 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 74.6% | 100 min | 1.9% | 2,466 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.3% | 70 min | 2.7% | 1,455 |
| Envoy Air | 80.9% | 58 min | 2.2% | 1,070 |
| Allegiant Air | 65.6% | 79 min | 0.9% | 758 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.8% | 95 min | 1.5% | 137 |
What delays out of RIC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 10,936 flights that departed RIC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36.6%
- Airline operations 32.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 25.3%
- Severe weather 5.1%
- 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 RIC
Of 55,276 scheduled arrivals into RIC, 74.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,829 arrivals that ran late, 53% 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 RIC
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 86.2% on time · 8,905 flights
- CLT 80.6% on time · 7,819 flights
- LGA 77.6% on time · 6,235 flights
- BOS 80.3% on time · 5,144 flights
- ORD 79.7% on time · 3,679 flights
- DFW 73.1% on time · 3,089 flights
- MCO 69.4% on time · 3,025 flights
- FLL 77.7% on time · 2,557 flights
- DTW 84.1% on time · 2,511 flights
- DEN 78.3% on time · 2,175 flights
RIC in one number
Richmond (RIC)
Rank 71 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about RIC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Richmond?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.1% of the time across 2,692 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 60.1%.
- Is the early flight out of RIC really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from RIC left on time 90.1% of the time across 12,982 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68% across 7,864. That is a gap of 22.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of RIC?
- July: 71.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,975 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 85.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at RIC?
- United Airlines — 89.3% of its 2,687 departures from RIC left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 65.6% over 758 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at RIC?
- 2% 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.