70% of flights leaving Atlantic City (ACY) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 6 points worse than the national average of 76%. About 5 flights leave ACY on a typical day; 5.3% were cancelled. 70% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best month: September (87%). Worst: March (70%).
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (37% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (83% → 77%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving ACY: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 48% of the time. About 1 in 10 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 43 three hours or more; 5.3% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early70%
- 15–30 min late7.6%
- 30–60 min late6.6%
- 1–2 hours late5.9%
- 2–3 hours late2.1%
- 3+ hours late2.3%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled5.3%
Share of all 1,973 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of ACY
Not enough flights at each hour to compare times of day reliably.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at ACY was a 6 a.m. departure in September (97% on time); the least, 6 a.m. in January (81%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
March is the hardest month at ACY, with 70% of flights on time across 2023–2026; September is the best at 87%. Summer (June–August) runs 11 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 10 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in March (5.9% of flights).
Airlines at ACY
Spirit Airlines runs 81% of departures from ACY, so ACY is effectively its hub. When Spirit Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 1,595 | 76% | 75% | 5.8% | −9 min |
| Allegiant Air | 378 | 44% | 49% | 2.9% | +18 min |
Why flights are late at ACY
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At ACY, 37% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 31%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 104 cancellations, 61% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 12 minutes, shorter than at most large U.S. airports.
ACY vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACY Atlantic City | — | 1,973 | 70% | 5.3% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 46 mi | 128,389 | 74% | 3.0% |
| TTN Trenton Mercer | 58 mi | 1,023 | 73% | 3.1% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 77% of ACY departures were on time, against 83% in the 12 months before, a decline of 6 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (89%); the worst, March 2026 (59%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Monday, Feb 23, 2026, when 100% of 10 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 23, 2026 | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Feb 16, 2026 | 10 | 30% | 30% |
| Mar 6, 2026 | 10 | 20% | 70% |
| Mar 2, 2026 | 10 | 20% | 30% |
| Feb 13, 2026 | 10 | 10% | 50% |
| Feb 20, 2026 | 10 | 0% | 60% |
| Feb 27, 2026 | 10 | 0% | 60% |
| May 1, 2026 | 11 | 0% | 73% |
| Oct 2, 2025 | 10 | 0% | 90% |
| Apr 17, 2026 | 10 | 0% | 100% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from ACY, each airline's final departure was cancelled 4.2% of the time, against 7.1% for its earlier flights, so at ACY the last flight is actually the steadier one. 1.7% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Spirit Airlines to Orlando (2.2% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCO Orlando | Spirit Airlines | — | 2.2% | 2.8% | 74% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of ACY
- Traveling in March? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Delayed already? Most delays at ACY come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from ACY
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 510 | 58% | 6.7% | +3 min |
| MCO Orlando | 427 | 78% | 5.9% | −7 min |
Flights into ACY
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Atlantic City, least reliable first. The weakest is from Orlando (64% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| MCO Orlando | 429 | 64% | 7.0% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 506 | 64% | 5.7% |
Questions about ACY delays
What month has the most flight delays at ACY?
March (70% on time). September is the best month (87%).
Why are flights delayed at ACY?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (37% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (31%).
How often are flights cancelled at ACY?
5.3% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in March at 5.9%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.