FlightRecord

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 88% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 64% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 78% against a national 78%, over roughly 869 departures a day to 160 destinations.

Departures on-time
78%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
82%
Cancelled
1.6%
Destinations
160
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from ATL

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 7 a.m.
89% on-time
Best day to fly
Wednesday
82% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Endeavor Air
87% on-time from ATL
Cancellation risk
1.6%
close to the US average
Check routes from ATL ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at ATL50%75%100%June 2024: 79% on-time (29,361 flights)79Jun 2024July 2024: 64% on-time (30,072 flights)64August 2024: 80% on-time (29,480 flights)80September 2024: 84% on-time (28,247 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 88% on-time (29,837 flights)88November 2024: 87% on-time (28,015 flights)87December 2024: 77% on-time (29,014 flights)77Dec 2024January 2025: 78% on-time (23,881 flights)78February 2025: 78% on-time (22,640 flights)78March 2025: 78% on-time (26,468 flights)78Mar 2025April 2025: 78% on-time (25,490 flights)78May 2025: 73% on-time (27,275 flights)73June 2025: 65% on-time (27,728 flights)65Jun 2025July 2025: 69% on-time (28,551 flights)69August 2025: 78% on-time (27,353 flights)78September 2025: 87% on-time (25,839 flights)87Sep 2025October 2025: 82% on-time (27,556 flights)82November 2025: 81% on-time (25,888 flights)81December 2025: 72% on-time (25,764 flights)72Dec 2025January 2026: 79% on-time (24,595 flights)79February 2026: 82% on-time (23,024 flights)82March 2026: 75% on-time (26,669 flights)75Mar 2026April 2026: 83% on-time (26,607 flights)83May 2026: 78% on-time (27,535 flights)78

Best time of day to depart from ATL

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at ATL5 a.m.: 86% on-time (3,987 flights)56 a.m.: 89% on-time (11,428 flights)67 a.m.: 89% on-time (29,535 flights)78 a.m.: 89% on-time (50,549 flights)89 a.m.: 85% on-time (48,536 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (38,195 flights)1011 a.m.: 83% on-time (43,755 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (36,024 flights)121 p.m.: 81% on-time (31,763 flights)132 p.m.: 78% on-time (33,044 flights)143 p.m.: 75% on-time (46,419 flights)154 p.m.: 73% on-time (40,067 flights)165 p.m.: 72% on-time (32,869 flights)176 p.m.: 70% on-time (31,184 flights)187 p.m.: 70% on-time (42,841 flights)198 p.m.: 68% on-time (33,663 flights)209 p.m.: 72% on-time (39,435 flights)2110 p.m.: 73% on-time (45,689 flights)2211 p.m.: 72% on-time (7,906 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday76%17 min
Tuesday81%14 min
Wednesdaybest82%12 min
Thursday78%14 min
Friday77%17 min
Saturday78%15 min
Sunday73%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from ATL ↓

Busiest routes from ATL

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL → LGA (New York)8,27874%19 min
ATL → MCO (Orlando)8,22970%22 min
ATL → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)7,17471%21 min
ATL → DCA (Washington)6,81771%22 min
ATL → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)6,73573%23 min
ATL → ORD (Chicago)6,39073%22 min
ATL → EWR (Newark)6,26369%26 min
ATL → MIA (Miami)6,24571%22 min
ATL → TPA (Tampa)6,13973%19 min
ATL → PHL (Philadelphia)5,68373%21 min
ATL → DEN (Denver)5,58276%16 min
ATL → BWI (Baltimore)5,43075%18 min
ATL → LAX (Los Angeles)5,09777%16 min
ATL → DTW (Detroit)4,92177%16 min
ATL → IAH (Houston)4,90875%18 min
ATL → BOS (Boston)4,90475%17 min
ATL → LAS (Las Vegas)4,84376%16 min
ATL → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)4,61380%13 min
ATL → AUS (Austin)4,56678%14 min
ATL → CLT (Charlotte)4,46180%16 min
ATL → JFK (New York)4,28475%22 min
ATL → BNA (Nashville)4,22681%12 min
ATL → MSY (New Orleans)4,09478%15 min
ATL → JAX (Jacksonville)3,99475%16 min
ATL → IAD (Washington)3,94977%19 min
ATL → PBI (West Palm Beach/Palm Beach)3,85574%16 min
ATL → PHX (Phoenix)3,79176%18 min
ATL → STL (St. Louis)3,71882%11 min
ATL → MDW (Chicago)3,53578%15 min
ATL → MSP (Minneapolis)3,52780%13 min
ATL → DAL (Dallas)3,44180%13 min
ATL → CLE (Cleveland)3,39078%15 min
ATL → SFO (San Francisco)3,35973%18 min
ATL → MEM (Memphis)3,35182%12 min
ATL → MCI (Kansas City)3,29180%13 min
ATL → SEA (Seattle)3,28179%13 min
ATL → BHM (Birmingham)3,26682%12 min
ATL → IND (Indianapolis)3,24582%12 min
ATL → CHS (Charleston)3,20982%11 min
ATL → CMH (Columbus)3,19980%12 min
ATL → SAT (San Antonio)3,07979%13 min
ATL → CVG (Cincinnati)3,01982%12 min
ATL → SAV (Savannah)2,99181%12 min
ATL → SLC (Salt Lake City)2,96683%12 min
ATL → HOU (Houston)2,95381%12 min
ATL → ORF (Norfolk)2,90976%16 min
ATL → RSW (Fort Myers)2,86777%15 min
ATL → GSP (Greer)2,80684%10 min
ATL → PIT (Pittsburgh)2,80083%11 min
ATL → PNS (Pensacola)2,79982%12 min

Compare airlines departing ATL ↓

Where flights into ATL come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
LGA (New York) → ATL8,27677%19 min
MCO (Orlando) → ATL8,22674%21 min
FLL (Fort Lauderdale) → ATL7,16872%22 min
DCA (Washington) → ATL6,81979%18 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → ATL6,73975%19 min
ORD (Chicago) → ATL6,39175%21 min
EWR (Newark) → ATL6,26873%23 min
MIA (Miami) → ATL6,24073%24 min

Most reliable routes

  1. ATL → CHO86%
  2. ATL → SJC86%
  3. ATL → PSP86%
  4. ATL → DAY85%
  5. ATL → BTR85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. ATL → FAR56%
  2. ATL → ANC61%
  3. ATL → ASE66%
  4. ATL → RNO67%
  5. ATL → STX68%

What causes delays at ATL

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing ATL.

  • Late-arriving aircraft29%
  • Airline operations45%
  • National airspace system20%
  • Weather6%

Alternative airports near Atlanta

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
CHA — Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport (Lovell Field)106 mi79%22 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at ATL

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Endeavor Air87%10 min16,447
United Airlines82%17 min14,801
Republic Airways81%17 min3,746
Delta Air Lines80%13 min472,083
Envoy Air80%15 min1,874
American Airlines77%26 min14,343
PSA Airlines77%25 min6,348
SkyWest Airlines76%27 min15,513
Southwest Airlines75%15 min46,322
Alaska Airlines74%16 min3,002
JetBlue Airways71%27 min5,017
Spirit Airlines69%23 min15,699
Frontier Airlines62%32 min31,694

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at ATL?
22% of departures from Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 16 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from ATL?
Flights scheduled around 7 a.m. depart on time 89% of the time at ATL, versus 68% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at ATL?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at ATL, with 64% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at ATL?
1.6% of scheduled departures from ATL were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 646,889 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.