Best time to fly out of Piedmont Triad (GSO)

The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Piedmont Triad: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.9% of the time, against 71.7% 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 89 93 95 92 95 91 96
6–8am 92 92 94 94 92 92 92
8–10am 89 88 95 96 92 91 91
10am–12pm 86 86 86 87 83 85 89
12–2pm 85 88 87 87 85 84 85
2–4pm 81 86 86 80 77 86 74
4–6pm 72 79 77 74 74 79 71
6–8pm 74 77 79 74 74 74 70
8–10pm 74 – – 73 72 – 68
10pm–12am – – – – – – –
fewer left on time more left on time

The steadiest stretch at GSO was Before 6am — 92.9% of departures left on time across 2,209 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 71.7%. 6–8am departures from GSO left on time 92.5% of the time across 8,912 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.6% across 4,294. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.

The year at GSO

July was the hard month at GSO: 78.4% of departures left on time, across 2,873 flights. September was the easy one at 88.6%. 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, 85%.
Departure on-time share at GSO by calendar month
Month Share departures that left on time Flights
January 85.3% 2,425
February 87.6% 2,354
March 86.3% 2,635
April 86.6% 2,757
May 83.2% 2,873
June 79.9% 2,689
July 78.4% 2,873
August 83.5% 2,905
September 88.6% 2,841
October 88.4% 3,164
November 88.2% 2,925
December 83.6% 2,616

Airlines at GSO

Every airline with at least 100 departures from GSO, 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
Delta Air Lines 87.7% 85 min 1.4% 7,555
Republic Airways 85.9% 82 min 4.2% 5,765
PSA Airlines 85.3% 102 min 2.4% 5,605
Envoy Air 86.9% 80 min 1.5% 4,750
American Airlines 75.3% 97 min 2.5% 3,718
SkyWest Airlines 85.3% 94 min 1.5% 2,898
Endeavor Air 87.5% 75 min 2.7% 2,405
Allegiant Air 62.6% 98 min 1.4% 361

Endeavor Air (through December 2024) stopped filing before June 2026. Its row covers a shorter run of months than the rest of the table, so its figure is not set against the others anywhere on this page.

What delays out of GSO were put down to

Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 5,536 flights that departed GSO and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 37.8% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 34.2% to airline operations.

Late-arriving aircraft 37.8% Airline operations 34.2% Air traffic & airport volume 18.5% Severe weather 9.4% Security 0.1%
  • Late-arriving aircraft 37.8%
  • Airline operations 34.2%
  • Air traffic & airport volume 18.5%
  • Severe weather 9.4%
  • 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 GSO

Of 33,056 scheduled arrivals into GSO, 77.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 6,564 arrivals that ran late, 51.9% 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 GSO

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.

GSO in one number

Piedmont Triad (GSO)

Rank 99 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.

July 2023–June 2026 · 32,297 departures flown

85% of departures left on time

Questions about GSO

What is the best time of day to fly out of Piedmont Triad?
Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.9% of the time across 2,209 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 71.7%.
Is the early flight out of GSO really more reliable?
6–8am departures from GSO left on time 92.5% of the time across 8,912 flights; 6–8pm departures, 74.6% across 4,294. That is a gap of 17.9 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
What is the worst month to fly out of GSO?
July: 78.4% of the departures that flew left on time, with 2,873 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 88.6%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
Which airline is most on time at GSO?
Delta Air Lines — 87.7% of its 7,555 departures from GSO left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 62.6% over 361 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 GSO?
2.3% 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.