RDU to ATL flight delays

RDU ATL Raleigh-Durham to Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta · 356 miles

13,961 flights were scheduled from RDU to ATL over July 2023 through June 2026. Of the 13,789 that made the trip, 85.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. These are arrival figures: “on time” means the flight reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Arrivals are what decide whether you make the connection, so route and airline pages are scored on them rather than on pushback.

Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics

The route in brief

Flights in the window
13,961
Arrived on time
85.2%
Cancelled
1.1%
Scheduled distance
356 miles

Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled. Diverted flights are counted with them rather than as very late arrivals, which is why the on-time share and the cancellation rate do not add up to everything that happened.

Airline by airline

Airlines with at least 100 flights on RDU–ATL, busiest first. Same route, same weather, same air traffic — which makes this the fairest comparison on the site.

Airline Arrived on time Typical delay Cancelled Flights
Delta Air Lines 87.3% 78 min 0.9% 10,713
Southwest Airlines 86.2% 61 min 0.6% 1,771
Frontier Airlines 69% 80 min 3.2% 1,464

Month by month

July was the month to avoid on RDU–ATL: 75.5% of flights arrived on time, against 90.1% in September. Each bar pools three years of that calendar month.

Share of flights that arrived on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 85.2%.
Arrival on-time share, RDU to ATL, by calendar month
Month Share flights that arrived on time Flights
January 85.1% 1,073
February 89.3% 987
March 84.6% 1,153
April 88.3% 1,128
May 80.2% 1,170
June 84.7% 1,184
July 75.5% 1,213
August 83.4% 1,219
September 90.1% 1,196
October 89.5% 1,263
November 87.5% 1,183
December 85.2% 1,192

Both ends of the route

A route’s record is built out of two airports’ habits. The hour-by-hour grid for each is on its own page.

RDU to ATL in one number

RDU → ATL

When a flight on this route was late, it was late by about 77 min.

July 2023–June 2026 · 13,961 flights

85.2% of flights arrived on time

Questions about RDU to ATL

Which airline is most reliable from RDU to ATL?
Delta Air Lines — its flights on this pairing arrived on time 87.3% of the time, with 10,713 scheduled. Frontier Airlines came in at 69% over 1,464 scheduled. Airlines with fewer than 100 flights on the route are not rated.
What is the worst month to fly RDU to ATL?
July, at 75.5% of arrivals on time, with 1,213 flights scheduled. September was the best of the year at 90.1%.
How late are RDU–ATL flights when they are late?
77 min on average, counting only the flights that arrived 15 minutes or more behind schedule. The on-time flights are left out of that average on purpose — mixing them in would flatter it.
How often is the RDU to ATL flight cancelled?
1.1% of scheduled flights on this route were cancelled, July 2023 through June 2026. Diverted flights are counted with the cancellations rather than as late arrivals.
Are these departure or arrival numbers?
Arrival. A flight counts as on time here if it reached the gate at ATL less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Airport pages score departures instead, because that is the number you can act on when you pick a booking time.