FlightRecord

Bradley International Airport (BDL): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Bradley International Airport (BDL) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 88% on-time in September 2025 but sank to 72% in December 2025. Across the year it averages 81% against a national 78%, over roughly 62 departures a day to 26 destinations.

Departures on-time
81%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
1.9%
Destinations
26
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from BDL

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
93% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
83% on-time
Most reliable airline here
United Airlines
87% on-time from BDL
Cancellation risk
1.9%
above the US average

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at BDL50%75%100%June 2024: 76% on-time (1,884 flights)76Jun 2024July 2024: 72% on-time (1,937 flights)72August 2024: 76% on-time (2,034 flights)76September 2024: 87% on-time (1,849 flights)87Sep 2024October 2024: 88% on-time (2,023 flights)88November 2024: 86% on-time (1,839 flights)86December 2024: 80% on-time (1,903 flights)80Dec 2024January 2025: 84% on-time (1,790 flights)84February 2025: 82% on-time (1,700 flights)82March 2025: 84% on-time (1,965 flights)84Mar 2025April 2025: 85% on-time (2,036 flights)85May 2025: 82% on-time (2,142 flights)82June 2025: 78% on-time (1,996 flights)78Jun 2025July 2025: 74% on-time (2,015 flights)74August 2025: 81% on-time (2,056 flights)81September 2025: 88% on-time (1,804 flights)88Sep 2025October 2025: 84% on-time (1,937 flights)84November 2025: 84% on-time (1,830 flights)84December 2025: 72% on-time (1,837 flights)72Dec 2025January 2026: 81% on-time (1,693 flights)81February 2026: 78% on-time (1,688 flights)78March 2026: 79% on-time (1,877 flights)79Mar 2026April 2026: 81% on-time (1,946 flights)81May 2026: 86% on-time (1,981 flights)86

Best time of day to depart from BDL

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at BDL5 a.m.: 93% on-time (3,039 flights)56 a.m.: 91% on-time (7,253 flights)67 a.m.: 91% on-time (3,935 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (2,540 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (1,944 flights)910 a.m.: 86% on-time (1,499 flights)1011 a.m.: 82% on-time (2,814 flights)1112 p.m.: 81% on-time (3,134 flights)121 p.m.: 79% on-time (2,267 flights)132 p.m.: 74% on-time (2,373 flights)143 p.m.: 77% on-time (2,513 flights)154 p.m.: 73% on-time (2,650 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (3,980 flights)176 p.m.: 68% on-time (2,344 flights)187 p.m.: 66% on-time (2,360 flights)198 p.m.: 63% on-time (684 flights)209 p.m.: 52% on-time (290 flights)2110 p.m.: 41% on-time (143 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%19 min
Tuesdaybest83%13 min
Wednesday82%13 min
Thursday79%16 min
Friday78%18 min
Saturday79%17 min
Sunday75%21 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from BDL

Busiest routes from BDL

Compare airlines departing BDL

Where flights into BDL come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago)BDL2,35278%17 min
ATL (Atlanta)BDL2,34378%15 min
MCO (Orlando)BDL1,89676%17 min
BWI (Baltimore)BDL1,76379%13 min
DCA (Washington)BDL1,74372%20 min
CLT (Charlotte)BDL1,68274%18 min
DTW (Detroit)BDL1,31783%12 min
IAD (Washington)BDL1,07184%10 min

Most reliable routes

  1. BDLJFK91%
  2. BDLMIA89%
  3. BDLDTW87%
  4. BDLIAD86%
  5. BDLMDW85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. BDLSJU64%
  2. BDLDCA71%
  3. BDLRSW74%
  4. BDLPBI74%
  5. BDLORD75%

What causes delays at BDL

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft40%
  • Airline operations32%
  • National airspace system25%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near Hartford

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

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

Airline performance at BDL

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
United Airlines87%11 min4,755
Spirit Airlines84%13 min889
Delta Air Lines83%13 min8,435
Envoy Air83%13 min650
SkyWest Airlines82%20 min433
Republic Airways82%14 min1,778
Southwest Airlines82%11 min8,391
American Airlines80%20 min8,455
JetBlue Airways79%17 min7,789
Endeavor Air78%16 min124
PSA Airlines77%24 min2,481
Frontier Airlines68%33 min1,582

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at BDL?
19% of departures from Bradley 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 BDL?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 93% of the time at BDL, versus 41% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at BDL?
In this dataset, December 2025 was the weakest month at BDL, with 72% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at BDL?
1.9% of scheduled departures from BDL were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 45,762 flights, 2024-062026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.