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.

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

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.

Share of departures that left on time, by calendar month. Best month in green, worst in amber. The hairline sits at the overall rate, 81%.
Departure on-time share at CHS by calendar month
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

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 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.

CHS in one number

Charleston (CHS)

Rank 57 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 73,690 departures flown

81% of departures left on time

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?
Endeavor Air — 85.4% of its 2,967 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.
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.