Best time to fly out of Columbia (CAE)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Columbia: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.9% of the time, against 68.8% 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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
Before 6am 89 89 95 93 91 95 90
6–8am 91 92 94 93 91 91 91
8–10am – – – – – – 90
10am–12pm 81 82 90 87 79 85 85
12–2pm 79 82 87 90 77 82 75
2–4pm 80 80 80 79 74 80 78
4–6pm 76 78 79 78 73 72 70
6–8pm 70 70 74 72 66 – 62
8–10pm – – – – – – –
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at CAE was 6–8am — 91.9% of departures left on time across 4,875 flights. The weakest was 6–8pm at 68.8%. 6–8am departures from CAE left on time 91.9% of the time across 4,875 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 1,757. That is a gap of 23.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at CAE

July was the hard month at CAE: 76.3% of departures left on time, across 1,640 flights. October was the easy one at 87.9%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 82.9%.
Departure on-time share at CAE by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 81.9% 1,415
February 84% 1,310
March 83.7% 1,290
April 83.8% 1,409
May 79.4% 1,551
June 79% 1,502
July 76.3% 1,640
August 83.4% 1,576
September 85.9% 1,642
October 87.9% 1,733
November 86.3% 1,626
December 82.2% 1,522

Airlines at CAE

Every airline with at least 100 departures from CAE, 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
PSA Airlines 80.6% 99 min 3.3% 5,725
Delta Air Lines 86.7% 80 min 1.2% 5,067
Endeavor Air 86.6% 76 min 1.9% 1,819
SkyWest Airlines 87.5% 100 min 1.4% 1,537
Republic Airways 81.2% 94 min 4.6% 1,487
American Airlines 74.2% 98 min 2.5% 1,200
Envoy Air 81.9% 62 min 2.7% 1,038
Allegiant Air 61.1% 92 min 1.6% 188
Spirit Airlines 65.1% 115 min 3.9% 155

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 CAE were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,270 flights that departed CAE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 41.7% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 33.9% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 41.7% Airline operations 33.9% Air traffic & airport volume 16.7% Severe weather 7.6% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 41.7%
  • Airline operations 33.9%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 16.7%
  • Severe weather 7.6%
  • 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 CAE

Of 18,216 scheduled arrivals into CAE, 76.3% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,869 arrivals that ran late, 51.4% 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 CAE

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.

CAE in one number

Columbia (CAE)

Rank 128 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 17,778 departures flown

82.9% of departures left on time

Questions about CAE

What is the best time of day to fly out of Columbia?
6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.9% of the time across 4,875 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 6–8pm band was the weakest at 68.8%.
Is the early flight out of CAE really more reliable?
6–8am departures from CAE left on time 91.9% of the time across 4,875 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68.8% across 1,757. That is a gap of 23.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of CAE?
July: 76.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,640 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at CAE?
SkyWest Airlines — 87.5% of its 1,537 departures from CAE left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 61.1% over 188 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 CAE?
2.4% 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.