Best time to fly out of Charleston (CHS)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Charleston: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.7% of the time, against 68.9% 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 | 91 | 90 | 94 | 96 | 93 | 93 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 90 | 93 | 94 | 93 | 93 | 92 | 92 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 91 | 94 | 93 | 90 | 89 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 84 | 89 | 87 | 85 | 83 | 84 | 83 |
| 12–2pm | 79 | 82 | 83 | 79 | 77 | 80 | 78 |
| 2–4pm | 75 | 82 | 81 | 77 | 74 | 76 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 73 | 78 | 79 | 74 | 72 | 77 | 68 |
| 6–8pm | 69 | 75 | 74 | 69 | 69 | 72 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 70 | 72 | 76 | 68 | 68 | 74 | 63 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at CHS was Before 6am — 92.7% of departures left on time across 2,698 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 68.9%. 6–8am departures from CHS left on time 92.5% of the time across 13,456 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70% across 10,957. That is a gap of 22.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at CHS
July was the hard month at CHS: 72.8% of departures left on time, across 7,109 flights. November was the easy one at 86.1%. 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 | 82.6% | 5,231 |
| February | 83.9% | 4,953 |
| March | 80.8% | 6,278 |
| April | 81.8% | 6,636 |
| May | 78.6% | 6,904 |
| June | 77.8% | 6,784 |
| July | 72.8% | 7,109 |
| August | 80.2% | 6,611 |
| September | 84% | 6,150 |
| October | 85.1% | 6,578 |
| November | 86.1% | 6,046 |
| December | 80.7% | 5,948 |
Airlines at CHS
Every airline with at least 100 departures from CHS, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 79.9% | 104 min | 1.8% | 14,702 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.6% | 87 min | 1.5% | 12,427 |
| Southwest Airlines | 79.6% | 50 min | 0.9% | 10,775 |
| United Airlines | 85% | 95 min | 1.6% | 7,429 |
| Republic Airways | 85.3% | 79 min | 3.4% | 7,193 |
| PSA Airlines | 78.9% | 99 min | 3.8% | 5,558 |
| JetBlue Airways | 71.5% | 84 min | 2% | 5,493 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.4% | 80 min | 4% | 2,967 |
| Spirit Airlines | 75.9% | 84 min | 3.2% | 2,847 |
| Envoy Air | 84% | 64 min | 1.8% | 2,675 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 75.9% | 79 min | 1.6% | 1,231 |
| Alaska Airlines | 79.6% | 46 min | 1.3% | 1,047 |
| Allegiant Air | 74.3% | 124 min | 1.8% | 507 |
| Frontier Airlines | 70.3% | 92 min | 2.7% | 377 |
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 CHS were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 14,107 flights that departed CHS and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 44.3% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.4% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 44.3%
- Airline operations 30.4%
- Air traffic & airport volume 22.2%
- Severe weather 3%
- 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 CHS
Of 75,224 scheduled arrivals into CHS, 76.5% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 16,134 arrivals that ran late, 54.7% 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 CHS
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 88.3% on time · 8,875 flights
- CLT 82% on time · 8,050 flights
- DCA 76.4% on time · 5,369 flights
- ORD 81.5% on time · 4,926 flights
- LGA 80.6% on time · 4,313 flights
- EWR 82.4% on time · 4,278 flights
- PHL 78.7% on time · 3,946 flights
- JFK 79.1% on time · 3,736 flights
- BWI 82.9% on time · 3,673 flights
- DFW 78.3% on time · 3,672 flights
CHS in one number
Charleston (CHS)
Rank 57 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about CHS
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Charleston?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.7% of the time across 2,698 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 68.9%.
- Is the early flight out of CHS really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from CHS left on time 92.5% of the time across 13,456 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70% across 10,957. That is a gap of 22.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of CHS?
- July: 72.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 7,109 scheduled. November was the other end of the year at 86.1%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at CHS?
- Republic Airways — 85.3% of its 7,193 departures from CHS left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 70.3% over 377 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 CHS?
- 2% 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.