Best time to fly out of Richmond (RIC)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Richmond: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 92.1% of the time, against 60.1% 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 | 89 | 93 | 94 | 94 | 92 | 91 | 92 |
| 6–8am | 88 | 92 | 93 | 92 | 89 | 87 | 89 |
| 8–10am | 87 | 88 | 92 | 92 | 87 | 88 | 89 |
| 10am–12pm | 82 | 88 | 89 | 85 | 81 | 81 | 85 |
| 12–2pm | 78 | 86 | 86 | 81 | 77 | 81 | 77 |
| 2–4pm | 72 | 76 | 77 | 73 | 68 | 75 | 69 |
| 4–6pm | 69 | 77 | 77 | 69 | 67 | 70 | 65 |
| 6–8pm | 67 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 66 | 62 | 63 |
| 8–10pm | 66 | 71 | 67 | 60 | 55 | 55 | 54 |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at RIC was Before 6am — 92.1% of departures left on time across 2,692 flights. The weakest was 8–10pm at 60.1%. 6–8am departures from RIC left on time 90.1% of the time across 12,982 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68% across 7,864. That is a gap of 22.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at RIC
July was the hard month at RIC: 71.3% of departures left on time, across 4,975 flights. September was the easy one at 85.4%. 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 | 81.7% | 4,027 |
| February | 84.2% | 3,843 |
| March | 79.4% | 4,450 |
| April | 81.9% | 4,548 |
| May | 79% | 4,996 |
| June | 76.3% | 4,937 |
| July | 71.3% | 4,975 |
| August | 78.8% | 4,743 |
| September | 85.4% | 4,550 |
| October | 84.7% | 4,920 |
| November | 85% | 4,646 |
| December | 76.6% | 4,644 |
Airlines at RIC
Every airline with at least 100 departures from RIC, 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 | 79.7% | 93 min | 1.7% | 10,870 |
| Republic Airways | 83.3% | 85 min | 3.9% | 9,772 |
| Delta Air Lines | 86.1% | 75 min | 1.2% | 8,195 |
| Southwest Airlines | 75.3% | 52 min | 0.5% | 6,099 |
| JetBlue Airways | 76.7% | 79 min | 2% | 5,594 |
| Endeavor Air | 85.1% | 89 min | 3% | 3,550 |
| United Airlines | 89.3% | 76 min | 1.1% | 2,687 |
| Spirit Airlines | 68.8% | 71 min | 1.9% | 2,626 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 74.6% | 100 min | 1.9% | 2,466 |
| PSA Airlines | 75.3% | 70 min | 2.7% | 1,455 |
| Envoy Air | 80.9% | 58 min | 2.2% | 1,070 |
| Allegiant Air | 65.6% | 79 min | 0.9% | 758 |
| Frontier Airlines | 74.8% | 95 min | 1.5% | 137 |
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 RIC were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 10,936 flights that departed RIC and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.6% put down to late-arriving aircraft and 32.8% to airline operations.
- Late-arriving aircraft 36.6%
- Airline operations 32.8%
- Air traffic & airport volume 25.3%
- Severe weather 5.1%
- Security 0.3%
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 RIC
Of 55,276 scheduled arrivals into RIC, 74.7% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 12,829 arrivals that ran late, 53% 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 RIC
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 86.2% on time · 8,905 flights
- CLT 80.6% on time · 7,819 flights
- LGA 77.6% on time · 6,235 flights
- BOS 80.3% on time · 5,144 flights
- ORD 79.7% on time · 3,679 flights
- DFW 73.1% on time · 3,089 flights
- MCO 69.4% on time · 3,025 flights
- FLL 77.7% on time · 2,557 flights
- DTW 84.1% on time · 2,511 flights
- DEN 78.3% on time · 2,175 flights
RIC in one number
Richmond (RIC)
Rank 71 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: July.
Questions about RIC
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Richmond?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 92.1% of the time across 2,692 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 8–10pm band was the weakest at 60.1%.
- Is the early flight out of RIC really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from RIC left on time 90.1% of the time across 12,982 flights; 6–8pm departures, 68% across 7,864. That is a gap of 22.1 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of RIC?
- July: 71.3% of the departures that flew left on time, with 4,975 scheduled. September was the other end of the year at 85.4%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at RIC?
- United Airlines — 89.3% of its 2,687 departures from RIC left on time. Allegiant Air sat at the other end at 65.6% over 758 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 RIC?
- 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.