Best time to fly out of Chattanooga (Lovell ) (CHA)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Chattanooga (Lovell ): departures in the Before 6am band left on time 89.7% of the time, against 69.5% in the 8–10pm 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 | 88 | 90 | 94 | 91 | 92 | 90 | 83 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 88 | 90 | 89 | 89 | 86 | 87 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 79 | 85 | 86 | 86 | 80 | 83 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 82 | 83 | 82 | 82 | 79 | 78 |
| 2–4pm | 69 | 77 | 74 | 74 | 72 | 75 | 75 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 79 | 81 | 71 | 76 | 77 | 70 |
| 6–8pm | 68 | 71 | 76 | 74 | 67 | 76 | 62 |
| 8–10pm | 75 | – | – | 73 | 66 | – | 65 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at CHA was Before 6am — 89.7% of departures left on time across 1,567 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 69.5%. 6–8am departures from CHA left on time 88.2% of the time across 4,030 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.1% across 2,064. That is a gap of 18.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at CHA
June was the hard month at CHA: 72.8% of departures left on time, across 1,422 flights. October was the easy one at 86.9%. 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 | 77.1% | 1,288 |
| February | 82.2% | 1,192 |
| March | 77.6% | 1,421 |
| April | 78.9% | 1,525 |
| May | 75.3% | 1,386 |
| June | 72.8% | 1,422 |
| July | 76.5% | 1,558 |
| August | 81.6% | 1,525 |
| September | 85.1% | 1,559 |
| October | 86.9% | 1,662 |
| November | 86.4% | 1,585 |
| December | 79% | 1,375 |
Airlines at CHA
Every airline with at least 100 departures from CHA, 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 | 79.4% | 108 min | 2.9% | 4,276 |
| Delta Air Lines | 85% | 88 min | 1.5% | 3,646 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 77.9% | 108 min | 2.4% | 3,002 |
| Envoy Air | 81% | 83 min | 1.7% | 2,690 |
| Endeavor Air | 84.1% | 70 min | 0.5% | 2,150 |
| Allegiant Air | 62.8% | 77 min | 1.6% | 1,006 |
| Republic Airways | 84.5% | 87 min | 1.6% | 491 |
| Spirit Airlines | 69.7% | 89 min | 1.8% | 168 |
What delays out of CHA were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 3,546 flights that departed CHA and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.3% put down to airline operations and 38.3% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 38.3%
- Airline operations 39.3%
- Air traffic & airport volume 13.8%
- Severe weather 8.5%
- 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 CHA
Of 17,497 scheduled arrivals into CHA, 76.9% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 3,693 arrivals that ran late, 49.3% 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 CHA
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.
- ATL 86.7% on time · 5,595 flights
- DFW 78.4% on time · 4,452 flights
- ORD 74.6% on time · 2,764 flights
- CLT 77.7% on time · 1,825 flights
- DCA 76.1% on time · 892 flights
- DTW 80.7% on time · 489 flights
- PIE 63.2% on time · 355 flights
- SFB 51.5% on time · 347 flights
- IAH 61.2% on time · 185 flights
- LAS 83% on time · 178 flights
CHA in one number
Chattanooga (Lovell ) (CHA)
Rank 131 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: June.
Questions about CHA
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Chattanooga (Lovell )?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 89.7% of the time across 1,567 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 69.5%.
- Is the early flight out of CHA really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from CHA left on time 88.2% of the time across 4,030 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.1% across 2,064. That is a gap of 18.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of CHA?
- June: 72.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 1,422 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 86.9%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at CHA?
- Delta Air Lines — 85% of its 3,646 departures from CHA left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 62.8% over 1,006 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at CHA?
- 1.9% 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.