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.

Share of departures that left on time, by hour band and day of week.
Departure time MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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 – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 80.2%.
Departure on-time share at CHA by calendar month
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

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 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 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.

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.

July 2023–June 2026 · 17,160 departures flown

80.2% of departures left on time

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. 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 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.