Best time to fly out of Atlanta (ATL)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 89.6% of the time, against 71.2% in the 6–8pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 87 | 88 | 88 | 89 | 86 | 86 | 84 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 91 | 91 | 91 | 89 | 88 | 88 |
| 8–10am | 85 | 89 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 87 | 86 |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 86 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 82 | 82 |
| 12–2pm | 81 | 85 | 86 | 84 | 81 | 81 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 76 | 80 | 82 | 78 | 76 | 78 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 77 | 79 | 74 | 73 | 74 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 76 | 77 | 69 | 69 | 73 | 65 |
| 8–10pm | 71 | 77 | 78 | 70 | 70 | 74 | 65 |
| 10pm–12am | 73 | 81 | 82 | 72 | 71 | 79 | 66 |
The steadiest stretch at ATL was 6–8am — 89.6% of departures left on time across 62,285 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 71.2%. 6–8am departures from ATL left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 108,747. That is a gap of 18.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at ATL
July was the hard month at ATL: 67.5% of departures left on time, across 88,542 flights. October was the easy one at 86%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78.6% | 74,791 |
| February | 82.6% | 70,485 |
| March | 78.2% | 81,596 |
| April | 81.3% | 80,516 |
| May | 75.1% | 84,680 |
| June | 74.5% | 84,050 |
| July | 67.5% | 88,542 |
| August | 77.3% | 86,264 |
| September | 85.1% | 82,430 |
| October | 86% | 86,644 |
| November | 85.7% | 81,376 |
| December | 78.7% | 82,805 |
Airlines at ATL
Every airline with at least 100 departures from ATL, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 80.8% | 60 min | 1.2% | 695,955 |
| Southwest Airlines | 74.4% | 51 min | 0.8% | 82,802 |
| Frontier Airlines | 62.1% | 82 min | 2.5% | 43,901 |
| Endeavor Air | 87.4% | 72 min | 0.9% | 37,949 |
| Spirit Airlines | 69.7% | 68 min | 1.8% | 26,429 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 77.5% | 104 min | 1.4% | 23,479 |
| United Airlines | 82% | 89 min | 1.5% | 22,421 |
| American Airlines | 78.2% | 107 min | 1.8% | 22,174 |
| JetBlue Airways | 70.2% | 90 min | 2.3% | 8,573 |
| PSA Airlines | 77% | 100 min | 3.6% | 8,243 |
| Republic Airways | 83.2% | 84 min | 3.3% | 5,498 |
| Alaska Airlines | 76.7% | 55 min | 1.1% | 4,180 |
| Envoy Air | 79% | 75 min | 2.6% | 2,575 |
Spirit Airlines (through May 2026) and Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Their rows cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so their figures are not set against the others anywhere on this page.
What delays out of ATL were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 202,775 flights that departed ATL and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.2% put down to airline operations and 29.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 29.3%
- Airline operations 44.2%
- Air traffic & airport volume 20.4%
- Severe weather 6%
- Security 0.1%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through ATL
Of 984,098 scheduled arrivals into ATL, 81.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 168,280 arrivals that ran late, 52.5% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of ATL
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
- MCO 71.7% on time · 26,030 flights
- LGA 76.9% on time · 23,931 flights
- FLL 72.2% on time · 22,215 flights
- DCA 74.2% on time · 20,601 flights
- DFW 73.2% on time · 19,753 flights
- MIA 71.7% on time · 19,572 flights
- TPA 74.1% on time · 19,404 flights
- EWR 73% on time · 18,137 flights
- ORD 74.3% on time · 17,984 flights
- BWI 75.9% on time · 17,650 flights
ATL in one number
Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta (ATL)
Rank 1 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about ATL
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 71.2%.
- Is the early flight out of ATL really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from ATL left on time 89.6% of the time across 62,285 flights; 6–8pm departures, 71.2% across 108,747. That is a gap of 18.4 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of ATL?
- July: 67.5% of the departures that flew left on time, with 88,542 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at ATL?
- Republic Airways — 83.2% of its 5,498 departures from ATL left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 62.1% over 43,901 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked. Airlines that stopped filing before June 2026 are left out of the ranking — their figures cover a shorter run of months than the rest of the table.
- How often are flights cancelled at ATL?
- 1.3% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.