CLT Charlotte Douglas delays

76% of flights leaving Charlotte (CLT) arrived on time over the past 12 months, right at the national average of 76%. That ranks 49 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 641 flights leave CLT on a typical day; 2.1% were cancelled. 75% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.

How late?

Best time of day to fly out of CLT

Time of day matters more at CLT than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 90% of the time; at 6 p.m. it was 66%, a 24-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 87% on time against 69% 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 3.1% of the time, against 2.1% overall.

Hour × month

Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CLT was a 5 a.m. departure in November (94% on time); the least, 7 p.m. in July (39%). 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

July is the hardest month at CLT, with 62% of flights on time across 2023–2026; November is the best at 84%. Summer (June–August) runs 16 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.5% of flights).

Airlines at CLT

American Airlines runs 89% of departures from CLT, so CLT is effectively its hub. When American Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (80% on time) and Frontier Airlines the least (65%), a 15-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.

Why flights are late at CLT

Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CLT, 49% 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 4,793 cancellations, 79% were blamed on weather.

The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 22 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.

Month by month

Over the latest 12 months 76% of CLT departures were on time, against 75% in the 12 months before: essentially unchanged. The best recent month was September 2025 (85%); the worst, July 2026 (64%).

Worst cancellation days

The worst single day in the past year was Saturday, Jan 31, 2026, when 94% of 560 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.

Last flights of the day

The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CLT, each airline's final departure was cancelled 2.5% of the time, against 1.9% for its earlier flights (1.4× 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. 2.0% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Spirit Airlines to Newark (12.3% cancelled).

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.

CLT at the holidays

On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from CLT arrived on time 75% of the time, against 85% normally (−10.5 points; 20th of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from CLT arrived on time 75% of the time, against 76% normally (−0.2 points; 10th of the 30 busiest airports).

Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →

Tips for flying out of CLT

• Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CLT the 5 a.m. flights do best.
• Traveling in July? 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 CLT; the one before it leaves you a backup.
• Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at CLT.
• Delayed already? Most delays at CLT come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.

Delayed at CLT right now? See how much later CLT delays usually get, and what to do →

Routes from CLT

Where you're going matters too. From CLT, the most reliable busy route was to Hilton Head (HHH, 84% on time) and the least reliable to San Francisco (SFO, 65%). 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.

Flights into CLT

Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Charlotte Douglas, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (58% on time).

Showing the 25 least reliable of 128 routes into CLT.

Questions about CLT delays

What is the best time to fly out of CLT?

Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 90% of CLT departures at that hour arrived on time, against 66% at 6 p.m., the worst hour.

What month has the most flight delays at CLT?

July (62% on time). November is the best month (84%).

Which airline is most on time at CLT?

United Airlines: 80% of its CLT departures arrived on time over the past year. Frontier Airlines had the weakest record at 65%.

Why are flights delayed at CLT?

The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (49% 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 CLT?

2.1% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.5%.

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.