78% of flights leaving Columbus (CMH) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 3 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 29 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 129 flights leave CMH on a typical day; 2.1% were cancelled. 79% 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. (93% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (65%).
- Best month: October (86%). Worst: July (74%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (82%), vs United Airlines at 77%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (37% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (80% → 78%).
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 CMH: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 52% of the time. About 1 in 14 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 62 three hours or more; 2.1% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early78%
- 15–30 min late6.7%
- 30–60 min late5.3%
- 1–2 hours late3.9%
- 2–3 hours late1.6%
- 3+ hours late1.6%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled2.1%
Share of all 47,242 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of CMH
Time of day matters more at CMH than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. arrived on time 93% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 65%, a 28-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 88% on time against 67% 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: 9 p.m. departures were cancelled 4.0% of the time, against 2.1% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CMH was a 5 a.m. departure in July (95% on time); the least, 4 p.m. in July (52%). 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 CMH, with 74% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 86%. Summer (June–August) runs 9 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 6 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (3.8% of flights).
Airlines at CMH
American Airlines runs 31% of departures from CMH. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (82% on time) and United Airlines the least (77%), a 5-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 | 14,513 | 78% | 80% | 2.7% | −10 min |
| Southwest Airlines | 12,338 | 79% | 76% | 1.0% | −6 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,962 | 82% | 82% | 2.4% | −12 min |
| United Airlines | 8,538 | 77% | 80% | 2.4% | −7 min |
| Spirit Airlines | 859 | 70% | 67% | 3.8% | −5 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 567 | 65% | 68% | 1.9% | −6 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 465 | 70% | 72% | 1.1% | +3 min |
Why flights are late at CMH
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CMH, 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 30%. 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 1,014 cancellations, 57% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 16 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
CMH vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CMH John Glenn Columbus | — | 47,242 | 78% | 2.1% |
| LCK Rickenbacker | 13 mi | 1,133 | 71% | 0.6% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 78% of CMH departures were on time, against 80% in the 12 months before, a decline of 2 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (85%); the worst, December 2025 (69%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 91% of 122 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 | 122 | 91% | 1% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 120 | 45% | 23% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 129 | 27% | 52% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 97 | 19% | 56% |
| Dec 14, 2025 | 136 | 18% | 37% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 133 | 16% | 41% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 141 | 16% | 33% |
| Jul 28, 2026 | 136 | 15% | 53% |
| Jul 21, 2026 | 136 | 15% | 65% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 111 | 14% | 36% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CMH, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.0% of the time, against 2.0% 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. 1.7% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Delta Air Lines to New York (9.7% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JFK New York | Delta Air Lines | 6:15 p.m. | 9.7% | 1.9% | 69% |
| LGA New York | American Airlines | 5:19 p.m. | 7.8% | 2.5% | 64% |
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 7:54 p.m. | 6.6% | 3.6% | 59% |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | Spirit Airlines | — | 7.9% | 2.0% | 65% |
| EWR Newark | United Airlines | 5:00 p.m. | 6.9% | 2.7% | 66% |
| PHL Philadelphia | American Airlines | 6:09 p.m. | 6.6% | 2.8% | 72% |
| LGA New York | Delta Air Lines | 5:30 p.m. | 8.1% | 0.6% | 69% |
| DCA Washington | American Airlines | 7:15 p.m. | 6.9% | 1.4% | 59% |
| ORD Chicago | American Airlines | 9:03 p.m. | 6.3% | 0.8% | 57% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 7:51 p.m. | 3.8% | 3.3% | 68% |
| BOS Boston | Delta Air Lines | 5:40 p.m. | 4.0% | 1.1% | 64% |
| BWI Baltimore | Southwest Airlines | 4:20 p.m. | 1.9% | 2.5% | 72% |
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 CMH
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CMH 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? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of CMH; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at CMH come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from CMH
Where you're going matters too. From CMH, the most reliable busy route was to Detroit (DTW, 85% on time) and the least reliable to Washington (DCA, 66%). 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 | 2,051 | 66% | 3.8% | −1 min |
| SEA Seattle | 469 | 70% | 1.1% | +3 min |
| ORD Chicago | 5,136 | 73% | 2.8% | −5 min |
| LGA New York | 3,187 | 75% | 4.9% | −9 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 718 | 75% | 3.2% | −6 min |
| MCO Orlando | 2,121 | 76% | 1.5% | −6 min |
| RSW Fort Myers | 654 | 77% | 1.7% | −5 min |
| DAL Dallas | 551 | 78% | 1.5% | −5 min |
| MDW Chicago | 1,237 | 78% | 1.6% | −5 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 473 | 78% | 1.1% | −7 min |
| DEN Denver | 1,776 | 78% | 0.6% | −5 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,664 | 78% | 3.4% | −12 min |
| DFW Dallas | 1,727 | 79% | 2.0% | −12 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 894 | 79% | 0.3% | −5 min |
| EWR Newark | 2,107 | 79% | 4.4% | −12 min |
| JFK New York | 1,702 | 79% | 4.8% | −11 min |
| IAH Houston | 991 | 80% | 1.2% | −11 min |
| BOS Boston | 2,005 | 80% | 2.3% | −13 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,141 | 81% | 1.3% | −8 min |
| IAD Washington | 1,475 | 82% | 1.3% | −7 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,237 | 82% | 1.1% | −11 min |
| BNA Nashville | 1,046 | 82% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 2,042 | 83% | 1.8% | −14 min |
| STL St. Louis | 674 | 83% | 0.6% | −9 min |
| TPA Tampa | 906 | 83% | 1.2% | −8 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 3,129 | 83% | 1.4% | −12 min |
| AUS Austin | 450 | 84% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| MIA Miami | 1,181 | 84% | 0.3% | −11 min |
| DTW Detroit | 1,892 | 85% | 0.9% | −12 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,044 | 86% | 1.5% | −10 min |
Flights into CMH
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into John Glenn Columbus, least reliable first. The weakest is from Fort Lauderdale (59% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 718 | 59% | 3.2% |
| DAL Dallas | 553 | 68% | 1.3% |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,140 | 70% | 1.0% |
| DFW Dallas | 1,727 | 70% | 2.0% |
| MCO Orlando | 2,122 | 71% | 1.5% |
| ORD Chicago | 5,138 | 71% | 2.8% |
| DEN Denver | 1,776 | 72% | 0.7% |
| LGA New York | 3,186 | 72% | 5.3% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 892 | 72% | 0.9% |
| RSW Fort Myers | 653 | 73% | 1.5% |
| JFK New York | 1,701 | 73% | 5.3% |
| DCA Washington | 2,051 | 75% | 3.9% |
| CLT Charlotte | 2,043 | 75% | 1.7% |
| BNA Nashville | 1,040 | 76% | 0.6% |
| BWI Baltimore | 1,053 | 77% | 1.5% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 1,667 | 77% | 3.4% |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,237 | 77% | 1.1% |
| MIA Miami | 1,179 | 78% | 0.4% |
| BOS Boston | 2,003 | 78% | 2.7% |
| ATL Atlanta | 3,130 | 79% | 1.4% |
| EWR Newark | 2,107 | 79% | 5.2% |
| MDW Chicago | 1,235 | 79% | 1.8% |
| STL St. Louis | 668 | 80% | 0.3% |
| TPA Tampa | 907 | 80% | 1.2% |
| AUS Austin | 458 | 80% | 0.9% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 30 routes into CMH.
Questions about CMH delays
What is the best time to fly out of CMH?
Flights scheduled at 5 a.m.: over the past year 93% of CMH departures at that hour arrived on time, against 65% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at CMH?
July (74% on time). October is the best month (86%).
Which airline is most on time at CMH?
Delta Air Lines: 82% of its CMH departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 77%.
Why are flights delayed at CMH?
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 (30%).
How often are flights cancelled at CMH?
2.1% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 3.8%.
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.