Best time to fly out of Cleveland Hopkins (CLE)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Cleveland Hopkins: departures in the 6–8am band left on time 91.7% of the time, against 63.8% 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 | 93 | 91 | 93 | 91 | 91 | 91 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 93 | 93 | 93 | 91 | 90 | 90 |
| 8–10am | 88 | 89 | 91 | 90 | 88 | 87 | 88 |
| 10am–12pm | 85 | 88 | 89 | 87 | 86 | 85 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 83 | 85 | 82 | 79 | 81 | 79 |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 82 | 82 | 80 | 75 | 80 | 74 |
| 4–6pm | 74 | 78 | 79 | 74 | 72 | 75 | 69 |
| 6–8pm | 72 | 77 | 74 | 69 | 69 | 68 | 64 |
| 8–10pm | 61 | 66 | 70 | 64 | 63 | 65 | 61 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at CLE was 6–8am — 91.7% of departures left on time across 27,194 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 63.8%. 6–8am departures from CLE left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.2% across 14,663. That is a gap of 21.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at CLE
July was the hard month at CLE: 74% of departures left on time, across 11,052 flights. September 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 | 79.8% | 8,905 |
| February | 84.2% | 8,525 |
| March | 80.9% | 10,444 |
| April | 85.1% | 10,246 |
| May | 82.4% | 10,995 |
| June | 78.1% | 10,905 |
| July | 74% | 11,052 |
| August | 80.5% | 10,901 |
| September | 86.9% | 10,444 |
| October | 86.8% | 10,925 |
| November | 85.6% | 9,986 |
| December | 80.1% | 9,819 |
Airlines at CLE
Every airline with at least 100 departures from CLE, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United Airlines | 89.1% | 85 min | 1% | 26,424 |
| Frontier Airlines | 72.8% | 83 min | 2.2% | 19,328 |
| Southwest Airlines | 81.5% | 54 min | 0.7% | 15,632 |
| American Airlines | 81.4% | 96 min | 1.9% | 13,822 |
| Republic Airways | 85.6% | 76 min | 3.3% | 13,685 |
| Delta Air Lines | 84.5% | 73 min | 1.1% | 9,716 |
| PSA Airlines | 76.9% | 115 min | 5.4% | 5,523 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 79.2% | 101 min | 1.5% | 5,218 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.4% | 103 min | 2.9% | 4,229 |
| Spirit Airlines | 76.4% | 76 min | 1.6% | 3,161 |
| Envoy Air | 79.1% | 68 min | 2.5% | 2,500 |
| JetBlue Airways | 78.8% | 84 min | 1.7% | 2,485 |
| Alaska Airlines | 75.8% | 47 min | 1.5% | 1,424 |
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 CLE were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 22,916 flights that departed CLE and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 39.2% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 30.9% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 39.2%
- Airline operations 30.9%
- Air traffic & airport volume 26.1%
- Severe weather 3.7%
- 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 CLE
Of 123,356 scheduled arrivals into CLE, 76.2% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 27,022 arrivals that ran late, 52.8% 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 CLE
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.
- ORD 80.1% on time · 11,346 flights
- ATL 84% on time · 9,781 flights
- LGA 81.9% on time · 6,840 flights
- MCO 77.5% on time · 6,350 flights
- EWR 82% on time · 6,102 flights
- CLT 79.9% on time · 5,647 flights
- DEN 82.3% on time · 5,538 flights
- DFW 75.2% on time · 5,179 flights
- BOS 81.1% on time · 5,109 flights
- DCA 74% on time · 4,523 flights
CLE in one number
Cleveland Hopkins (CLE)
Rank 46 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: 6–8am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about CLE
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Cleveland Hopkins?
- 6–8am. Departures in that band left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 63.8%.
- Is the early flight out of CLE really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from CLE left on time 91.7% of the time across 27,194 flights; 6–8pm departures, 70.2% across 14,663. That is a gap of 21.5 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of CLE?
- July: 74% of the departures that flew left on time, with 11,052 scheduled. September 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 CLE?
- United Airlines — 89.1% of its 26,424 departures from CLE left on time. Frontier Airlines sat at the other end at 72.8% over 19,328 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 CLE?
- 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.