77% of flights leaving Cleveland (CLE) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. That ranks 36 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 125 flights leave CLE on a typical day; 2.6% were cancelled. 78% 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 hour to fly: 5 a.m. (88% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (60%).
- Best month: October (86%). Worst: January (71%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (82%), vs American Airlines at 72%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (39% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (80% → 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 CLE: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 49% of the time. About 1 in 12 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 52 three hours or more; 2.6% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early77%
- 15–30 min late6.7%
- 30–60 min late5.4%
- 1–2 hours late4.3%
- 2–3 hours late1.8%
- 3+ hours late1.9%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled2.6%
Share of all 45,445 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of CLE
Time of day matters more at CLE than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 88% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 60%, a 28-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 86% on time against 64% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 7 p.m. departures were cancelled 4.7% of the time, against 2.6% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CLE was a 7 a.m. departure in October (95% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in July (53%). 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
January is the hardest month at CLE, with 71% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 10 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 9 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (4.3% of flights).
Airlines at CLE
American Airlines runs 25% of departures from CLE. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (82% on time) and American Airlines the least (72%), a 11-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 11,298 | 72% | 74% | 4.5% | −8 min |
| United Airlines | 11,137 | 82% | 86% | 1.6% | −9 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,607 | 79% | 79% | 2.9% | −12 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 6,400 | 74% | 76% | 1.8% | −7 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 5,439 | 80% | 77% | 0.6% | −6 min |
| JetBlue | 880 | 72% | 74% | 4.7% | −9 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 461 | 62% | 65% | 1.5% | +7 min |
| Spirit Airlines | 223 | 68% | 68% | 5.4% | −9 min |
Why flights are late at CLE
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CLE, 39% 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 29%. 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 1,178 cancellations, 51% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 17 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
CLE vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLE Cleveland Hopkins | — | 45,445 | 77% | 2.6% |
| CAK Akron Canton | 40 mi | 4,996 | 71% | 3.4% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 77% of CLE departures were on time, against 80% in the 12 months before, a decline of 3 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (86%); the worst, December 2025 (68%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 50% of 115 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 115 | 50% | 7% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 110 | 33% | 36% |
| Dec 29, 2025 | 127 | 27% | 46% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 98 | 24% | 36% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 128 | 23% | 38% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 137 | 23% | 31% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 133 | 20% | 53% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 124 | 18% | 48% |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 133 | 17% | 56% |
| Dec 14, 2025 | 126 | 14% | 17% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CLE, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.6% of the time, against 2.5% for its earlier flights (1.5× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.5% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was American Airlines to Washington (14.0% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | American Airlines | 7:54 p.m. | 14.0% | 4.1% | 37% |
| JFK New York | American Airlines | 5:05 p.m. | 11.4% | 5.7% | 63% |
| LGA New York | Delta Air Lines | 7:16 p.m. | 8.6% | 4.4% | 55% |
| JFK New York | Delta Air Lines | 5:14 p.m. | 9.7% | 2.8% | 66% |
| LGA New York | American Airlines | 7:03 p.m. | 10.3% | 2.2% | 55% |
| PHL Philadelphia | American Airlines | 7:31 p.m. | 7.7% | 2.5% | 63% |
| EWR Newark | United Airlines | 7:08 p.m. | 6.0% | 3.3% | 61% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 8:47 p.m. | 8.2% | 1.1% | 58% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 7:40 p.m. | 5.8% | 1.9% | 61% |
| BOS Boston | JetBlue | 4:30 p.m. | 4.0% | 3.2% | 52% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 7:52 p.m. | 3.8% | 3.0% | 59% |
| IAD Washington | United Airlines | 7:55 p.m. | 2.7% | 3.8% | 79% |
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 CLE
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CLE the 5 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in January? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of CLE; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at CLE come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from CLE
Where you're going matters too. From CLE, the most reliable busy route was to Washington (IAD, 85% on time) and the least reliable to Washington (DCA, 59%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | 1,605 | 59% | 8.1% | +1 min |
| SEA Seattle | 461 | 62% | 1.5% | +7 min |
| LGA New York | 2,925 | 69% | 6.7% | −8 min |
| ORD Chicago | 4,904 | 72% | 3.2% | −4 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,615 | 74% | 2.3% | −9 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,001 | 74% | 1.8% | −4 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,011 | 75% | 0.8% | −4 min |
| BOS Boston | 1,620 | 75% | 3.1% | −12 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,602 | 76% | 5.0% | −11 min |
| JFK New York | 1,767 | 76% | 6.3% | −12 min |
| EWR Newark | 2,191 | 77% | 3.8% | −9 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,780 | 78% | 2.1% | −11 min |
| DTW Detroit | 1,870 | 78% | 0.7% | −12 min |
| MCO Orlando | 2,125 | 78% | 0.9% | −9 min |
| MIA Miami | 892 | 78% | 1.2% | −10 min |
| TPA Tampa | 1,046 | 78% | 1.4% | −11 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 1,305 | 79% | 2.7% | −10 min |
| MDW Chicago | 1,115 | 80% | 1.1% | −5 min |
| RSW Fort Myers | 927 | 81% | 1.2% | −11 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,845 | 82% | 0.5% | −7 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,235 | 82% | 1.2% | −11 min |
| BNA Nashville | 1,038 | 82% | 0.8% | −8 min |
| STL St. Louis | 691 | 82% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 3,403 | 83% | 2.0% | −13 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 971 | 83% | 1.1% | −10 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 759 | 83% | 0.4% | −7 min |
| IAD Washington | 1,450 | 85% | 1.3% | −7 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 573 | 87% | 0.0% | −9 min |
| IAH Houston | 1,007 | 90% | 0.3% | −18 min |
Flights into CLE
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Cleveland Hopkins, least reliable first. The weakest is from Washington (60% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DCA Washington | 1,604 | 60% | 8.0% |
| DFW Dallas | 1,612 | 64% | 2.2% |
| LGA New York | 2,923 | 68% | 6.5% |
| ORD Chicago | 4,909 | 69% | 2.8% |
| BNA Nashville | 1,038 | 71% | 0.7% |
| MIA Miami | 891 | 71% | 1.0% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,003 | 72% | 1.8% |
| JFK New York | 1,768 | 72% | 5.6% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,780 | 72% | 2.0% |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,012 | 73% | 0.7% |
| DTW Detroit | 1,869 | 74% | 0.6% |
| BWI Baltimore | 971 | 74% | 2.3% |
| BOS Boston | 1,620 | 74% | 2.9% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 1,306 | 75% | 2.7% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,601 | 75% | 4.2% |
| DEN Denver | 1,847 | 75% | 0.3% |
| MCO Orlando | 2,123 | 76% | 1.1% |
| RSW Fort Myers | 927 | 76% | 1.5% |
| EWR Newark | 2,192 | 77% | 3.7% |
| TPA Tampa | 1,048 | 77% | 1.2% |
| ATL Atlanta | 3,403 | 77% | 2.0% |
| MDW Chicago | 1,115 | 78% | 1.4% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,236 | 78% | 1.1% |
| SEA Seattle | 460 | 80% | 0.7% |
| STL St. Louis | 691 | 80% | 0.3% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 29 routes into CLE.
Questions about CLE delays
What is the best time to fly out of CLE?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 88% of CLE departures at that hour arrived on time, against 60% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at CLE?
January (71% on time). October is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at CLE?
United Airlines: 82% of its CLE departures arrived on time over the past year. American Airlines had the weakest record at 72%.
Why are flights delayed at CLE?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (39% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (29%).
How often are flights cancelled at CLE?
2.6% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 4.3%.
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.