ON TIMEBOARD

BNA → ATL on time

Nashville (Nashville, TN) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (Atlanta, GA). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
81%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.7%
4,272 flights
Typical arrival
−11 min
median vs schedule
When late
+70 min
average delay
Flights / day
12
2 airlines

81% of flights from Nashville to Atlanta arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is about the typical U.S. route. The 5 a.m. departures ran on time 93% of the time; the 3 p.m. ones 65%. Most reliable airline: Delta Air Lines (84%). 8% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for BNA → ATL: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 53% of the time. About 1 in 17 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 87 three hours or more; 1.7% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 4,272 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Delta Air Lines3,36984%2.1%−12 min5.1%+78 minDelta Air Lines 100%, Endeavor Air 0%
Southwest Airlines90370%0.2%−1 min8.4%+57 minSouthwest Airlines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at BNA). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

40%70%100%5 a.m. departures: 93% on time (351 flights)935a6 a.m. departures: 86% on time (349 flights)866a7 a.m. departures: 87% on time (303 flights)877a8 a.m. departures: 88% on time (243 flights)888a9 a.m. departures: 90% on time (394 flights)909a10 a.m. departures: 85% on time (284 flights)8510a11 a.m. departures: 85% on time (196 flights)8511anoon departures: 81% on time (332 flights)8112p1 p.m. departures: 83% on time (145 flights)831p2 p.m. departures: 79% on time (384 flights)792p3 p.m. departures: 65% on time (103 flights)653p4 p.m. departures: 74% on time (313 flights)744p5 p.m. departures: 75% on time (301 flights)755p6 p.m. departures: 65% on time (306 flights)656p7 p.m. departures: 71% on time (184 flights)717p8 p.m. departures: too few flights (37 flights)8p9 p.m. departures: too few flights (20 flights)9p10 p.m. departures: too few flights (27 flights)10p
BNA → ATL, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

By airline and hour

DepartsDelta Air LinesSouthwest Airlines
5 a.m.93%—
6 a.m.86%—
7 a.m.87%—
8 a.m.87%—
9 a.m.90%—
10 a.m.86%—
11 a.m.—82%
noon83%—
2 p.m.81%—
4 p.m.74%—
5 p.m.80%68%
6 p.m.79%41%
7 p.m.73%—

Last flight of the day

On BNA → ATL, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 1.3% of the time, against 1.8% for its earlier flights, so here the last flight is actually the safer one. It arrived 3+ hours late 1.2% of the time (earlier flights: 1.2%). It matters more than the numbers suggest. Miss an earlier flight and there's another one that evening; miss the last one and you're usually waiting until morning.

AirlineLast departureLast: cancelledLast: 3h+ lateEarlier: cancelledNext morning
Delta Air Lines6:54 p.m.2.5%0.8%2.0%first flight 5:10 a.m.
Southwest Airlines7:15 p.m.0.0%1.6%0.4%first flight 12:50 p.m.

Last flight = the airline's last scheduled departure on this route that day, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Times are typical scheduled times over the latest three months.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026. Best: September (90%). Worst: July (71%).

40%70%100%Jan: 80% on time (852 flights)80JanFeb: 89% on time (833 flights)89FebMar: 85% on time (984 flights)85MarApr: 87% on time (1,040 flights)87AprMay: 81% on time (1,131 flights)81MayJun: 83% on time (1,066 flights)83JunJul: 71% on time (1,085 flights)71JulAug: 86% on time (1,044 flights)86AugSep: 90% on time (971 flights)90SepOct: 90% on time (1,020 flights)90OctNov: 88% on time (945 flights)88NovDec: 84% on time (980 flights)84Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday66976%1.8%
Tuesday60684%0.5%
Wednesday59588%0.5%
Thursday64884%0.5%
Friday65879%1.4%
Saturday48682%3.1%
Sunday61076%4.3%

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Late inbound plane 43%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 33%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 19%Severe weather 5%

Cancellations: airline 47 · weather 24

Month by month

60%80%100%Sep 2023Jan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026Sep 2023: 91% on time, 0.0% cancelledOct 2023: 94% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2023: 94% on time, 0.0% cancelledDec 2023: 90% on time, 0.0% cancelledJan 2024: 79% on time, 4.4% cancelledFeb 2024: 94% on time, 0.0% cancelledMar 2024: 89% on time, 0.0% cancelledApr 2024: 91% on time, 0.3% cancelledMay 2024: 79% on time, 0.3% cancelledJun 2024: 91% on time, 0.0% cancelledJul 2024: 69% on time, 5.3% cancelledAug 2024: 90% on time, 0.7% cancelledSep 2024: 86% on time, 0.0% cancelledOct 2024: 92% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2024: 91% on time, 0.0% cancelledDec 2024: 83% on time, 0.0% cancelledJan 2025: 79% on time, 3.5% cancelledFeb 2025: 86% on time, 0.4% cancelledMar 2025: 87% on time, 0.6% cancelledApr 2025: 85% on time, 1.2% cancelledMay 2025: 84% on time, 0.5% cancelledJun 2025: 79% on time, 2.1% cancelledJul 2025: 78% on time, 0.5% cancelledAug 2025: 88% on time, 1.1% cancelledSep 2025: 93% on time, 0.0% cancelledOct 2025: 85% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2025: 79% on time, 2.7% cancelledDec 2025: 79% on time, 1.7% cancelledJan 2026: 81% on time, 5.7% cancelledFeb 2026: 89% on time, 0.7% cancelledMar 2026: 78% on time, 2.8% cancelledApr 2026: 85% on time, 2.1% cancelledMay 2026: 81% on time, 2.5% cancelledJun 2026: 82% on time, 0.5% cancelledJul 2026: 67% on time, 1.7% cancelledAug 2026: 80% on time, 0.0% cancelled
Share of flights on time, by month (hover a point for cancellations)
BNA → ATL, monthly on-time and cancellation rate.

Flight numbers on this route

Regular flights with at least 120 scheduled trips in the past year. Sorted by departure time.

FlightDepartsFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrivalOperated by
DL 26375:15 a.m.35592%2.8%−17 minDelta Air Lines
DL 30016:20 a.m.36586%1.4%−13 minDelta Air Lines
DL 28027:30 a.m.25887%1.2%−12 minDelta Air Lines
DL 30699:48 a.m.27990%1.8%−15 minDelta Air Lines
DL 115510:59 a.m.19389%1.0%−11 minDelta Air Lines
DL 286712:38 p.m.13880%1.5%−9 minDelta Air Lines
DL 31592:51 p.m.12278%1.6%−9 minDelta Air Lines
DL 31424:34 p.m.16867%1.8%−6 minDelta Air Lines
DL 16935:59 p.m.20979%1.9%−9 minDelta Air Lines

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Mar 16, 2026130%4
Jan 25, 2026110%7
Mar 7, 2026911%1
Jan 26, 20261020%3
Dec 7, 20251323%2

Questions

How often are flights from BNA to ATL on time?

81% of 4,272 scheduled flights from Nashville, TN to Atlanta, GA arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 1.7% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly BNA to ATL?

Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. were the most reliable (93% on time). The 3 p.m. departures were the least (65%).

Which airline is most on time from BNA to ATL?

Delta Air Lines: 84% of its 3,369 flights on the route arrived on time. Southwest Airlines: 70%.

What month has the most delays from BNA to ATL?

July (71% on time). The best month is September (90%), over 2023–2026.

Is the last flight of the day from BNA to ATL more likely to be cancelled?

No, the opposite. Each airline's last BNA–ATL flight of the day was cancelled 1.3% of the time over the past year, against 1.8% for its earlier flights. If the last flight is cancelled, the next one is usually the following morning.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.