FlightRecord

John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 90% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 73% in July 2025. Across the year it averages 82% against a national 78%, over roughly 122 departures a day to 46 destinations.

Departures on-time
82%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
15 min
Arrivals on-time
78%
Cancelled
1.7%
Destinations
46
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from CMH

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
94% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
85% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
87% on-time from CMH
Cancellation risk
1.7%
close to the US average
Check routes from CMH ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at CMH50%75%100%August 2024: 81% on-time (3,707 flights)81Aug 2024September 2024: 89% on-time (3,549 flights)89October 2024: 90% on-time (3,849 flights)90November 2024: 89% on-time (3,610 flights)89Nov 2024December 2024: 81% on-time (3,528 flights)81January 2025: 85% on-time (3,283 flights)85February 2025: 85% on-time (3,103 flights)85Feb 2025March 2025: 84% on-time (3,760 flights)84April 2025: 84% on-time (3,824 flights)84May 2025: 80% on-time (3,851 flights)80May 2025June 2025: 76% on-time (3,926 flights)76July 2025: 73% on-time (3,933 flights)73August 2025: 84% on-time (3,758 flights)84Aug 2025September 2025: 85% on-time (3,726 flights)85October 2025: 83% on-time (4,031 flights)83November 2025: 82% on-time (3,641 flights)82Nov 2025December 2025: 73% on-time (3,567 flights)73January 2026: 83% on-time (3,296 flights)83February 2026: 82% on-time (3,231 flights)82Feb 2026March 2026: 76% on-time (4,010 flights)76April 2026: 85% on-time (3,713 flights)85May 2026: 84% on-time (3,860 flights)84May 2026June 2026: 80% on-time (3,876 flights)80July 2026: 78% on-time (4,002 flights)78

Best time of day to depart from CMH

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at CMH5 a.m.: 94% on-time (4,350 flights)56 a.m.: 93% on-time (12,691 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (8,779 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (6,644 flights)89 a.m.: 90% on-time (3,512 flights)910 a.m.: 88% on-time (5,291 flights)1011 a.m.: 85% on-time (5,838 flights)1112 p.m.: 81% on-time (5,158 flights)121 p.m.: 81% on-time (4,034 flights)132 p.m.: 77% on-time (5,233 flights)143 p.m.: 73% on-time (4,963 flights)154 p.m.: 73% on-time (5,134 flights)165 p.m.: 71% on-time (6,375 flights)176 p.m.: 70% on-time (6,403 flights)187 p.m.: 68% on-time (4,524 flights)198 p.m.: 64% on-time (2,554 flights)209 p.m.: 65% on-time (924 flights)21scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday79%17 min
Tuesdaybest85%12 min
Wednesday84%12 min
Thursday80%15 min
Friday80%16 min
Saturday82%14 min
Sunday78%18 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from CMH ↓

Busiest routes from CMH

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
CMH → ORD (Chicago)4,93077%21 min
CMH → ATL (Atlanta)3,15585%12 min
CMH → LGA (New York)3,04881%14 min
CMH → MCO (Orlando)2,14880%16 min
CMH → EWR (Newark)2,06383%12 min
CMH → DCA (Washington)2,05173%20 min
CMH → CLT (Charlotte)2,04680%19 min
CMH → BOS (Boston)2,00584%12 min
CMH → DEN (Denver)1,76979%15 min
CMH → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)1,72880%21 min
CMH → JFK (New York)1,60184%11 min
CMH → DTW (Detroit)1,46287%13 min
CMH → PHL (Philadelphia)1,43277%20 min
CMH → MDW (Chicago)1,23983%11 min
CMH → MIA (Miami)1,15482%12 min
CMH → PHX (Phoenix)1,14884%16 min
CMH → BWI (Baltimore)1,04889%9 min
CMH → BNA (Nashville)1,04084%9 min
CMH → IAD (Washington)97985%11 min
CMH → TPA (Tampa)90182%11 min
CMH → LAS (Las Vegas)89880%13 min
CMH → MSP (Minneapolis)85085%13 min
CMH → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)76480%15 min
CMH → STL (St. Louis)67384%11 min
CMH → RSW (Fort Myers)65282%13 min
CMH → DAL (Dallas)53576%14 min
CMH → IAH (Houston)52277%19 min
CMH → LAX (Los Angeles)46478%27 min
CMH → SEA (Seattle)46474%13 min
CMH → AUS (Austin)41482%11 min
CMH → SLC (Salt Lake City)36391%8 min
CMH → HOU (Houston)35481%11 min
CMH → SFO (San Francisco)32261%31 min
CMH → SRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton)23280%13 min
CMH → SAN (San Diego)19461%17 min

Compare airlines departing CMH ↓

Where flights into CMH come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ORD (Chicago) → CMH4,93376%18 min
ATL (Atlanta) → CMH3,15580%13 min
LGA (New York) → CMH3,04780%16 min
MCO (Orlando) → CMH2,15075%16 min
EWR (Newark) → CMH2,06282%16 min
DCA (Washington) → CMH2,05278%16 min
CLT (Charlotte) → CMH2,04775%19 min
BOS (Boston) → CMH2,00382%13 min

Most reliable routes

  1. CMH → SLC91%
  2. CMH → BWI89%
  3. CMH → DTW87%
  4. CMH → IAD85%
  5. CMH → MSP85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. CMH → SAN61%
  2. CMH → SFO61%
  3. CMH → DCA73%
  4. CMH → SEA74%
  5. CMH → DAL76%

What causes delays at CMH

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft37%
  • Airline operations32%
  • National airspace system28%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near Columbus

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
LCK — Rickenbacker International Airport13 mi71%29 min
DAY — James M. Cox Dayton International Airport71 mi82%20 min
CAK — Akron Canton Regional Airport99 mi78%26 min
CLE — Cleveland Hopkins International Airport112 mi82%16 min
CVG — Cincinnati Northern Kentucky International Airport115 mi81%16 min

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

Airline performance at CMH

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines87%12 min7,761
Republic Airways87%10 min26,239
Envoy Air84%15 min6,705
American Airlines81%23 min8,247
Southwest Airlines80%13 min25,362
United Airlines78%19 min6,282
SkyWest Airlines78%25 min2,660
Spirit Airlines76%19 min3,656
PSA Airlines76%24 min3,635
Alaska Airlines73%13 min988
Frontier Airlines70%26 min805

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at CMH?
18% of departures from John Glenn Columbus International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 15 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from CMH?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at CMH, versus 64% around 8 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at CMH?
In this dataset, July 2025 was the weakest month at CMH, with 73% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at CMH?
1.7% of scheduled departures from CMH were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 92,431 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.