FlightRecord

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through July 2026

Raleigh-Durham International Airport (RDU) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 87% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 69% in July 2026. Across the year it averages 80% against a national 78%, over roughly 152 departures a day to 48 destinations.

Departures on-time
80%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
17 min
Arrivals on-time
77%
Cancelled
2.1%
Destinations
48
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from RDU

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
82% on-time
Most reliable airline here
SkyWest Airlines
85% on-time from RDU
Cancellation risk
2.1%
above the US average
Check routes from RDU ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at RDU50%75%100%August 2024: 75% on-time (5,535 flights)75Aug 2024September 2024: 85% on-time (5,104 flights)85October 2024: 87% on-time (5,358 flights)87November 2024: 87% on-time (5,064 flights)87Nov 2024December 2024: 81% on-time (5,010 flights)81January 2025: 85% on-time (4,205 flights)85February 2025: 84% on-time (3,848 flights)84Feb 2025March 2025: 83% on-time (4,579 flights)83April 2025: 83% on-time (4,528 flights)83May 2025: 81% on-time (4,800 flights)81May 2025June 2025: 74% on-time (4,864 flights)74July 2025: 71% on-time (4,907 flights)71August 2025: 79% on-time (4,640 flights)79Aug 2025September 2025: 86% on-time (4,484 flights)86October 2025: 81% on-time (4,929 flights)81November 2025: 81% on-time (4,796 flights)81Nov 2025December 2025: 75% on-time (4,803 flights)75January 2026: 82% on-time (4,163 flights)82February 2026: 82% on-time (3,954 flights)82Feb 2026March 2026: 75% on-time (4,658 flights)75April 2026: 83% on-time (4,748 flights)83May 2026: 82% on-time (4,884 flights)82May 2026June 2026: 78% on-time (4,615 flights)78July 2026: 69% on-time (4,787 flights)69

Best time of day to depart from RDU

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at RDU5 a.m.: 93% on-time (5,010 flights)56 a.m.: 93% on-time (14,677 flights)67 a.m.: 91% on-time (10,823 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (7,087 flights)89 a.m.: 88% on-time (5,559 flights)910 a.m.: 87% on-time (5,775 flights)1011 a.m.: 83% on-time (7,399 flights)1112 p.m.: 81% on-time (7,521 flights)121 p.m.: 78% on-time (6,391 flights)132 p.m.: 75% on-time (4,479 flights)143 p.m.: 74% on-time (6,683 flights)154 p.m.: 70% on-time (6,621 flights)165 p.m.: 68% on-time (8,217 flights)176 p.m.: 67% on-time (9,791 flights)187 p.m.: 66% on-time (7,654 flights)198 p.m.: 64% on-time (3,519 flights)209 p.m.: 64% on-time (1,195 flights)2110 p.m.: 64% on-time (521 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%20 min
Tuesdaybest82%15 min
Wednesday82%15 min
Thursday78%17 min
Friday77%19 min
Saturday81%16 min
Sunday76%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from RDU ↓

Busiest routes from RDU

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
RDU → ATL (Atlanta)4,63085%13 min
RDU → ORD (Chicago)3,65477%22 min
RDU → CLT (Charlotte)3,04580%18 min
RDU → BOS (Boston)2,82780%17 min
RDU → MCO (Orlando)2,70479%19 min
RDU → PHL (Philadelphia)2,60473%27 min
RDU → LGA (New York)2,59572%25 min
RDU → MIA (Miami)2,35978%20 min
RDU → JFK (New York)2,34377%18 min
RDU → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,26377%21 min
RDU → BNA (Nashville)2,21482%11 min
RDU → DCA (Washington)2,00967%26 min
RDU → EWR (Newark)1,98572%28 min
RDU → BWI (Baltimore)1,79185%10 min
RDU → DEN (Denver)1,74580%15 min
RDU → DTW (Detroit)1,49986%12 min
RDU → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)1,35379%16 min
RDU → IAD (Washington)1,30188%10 min
RDU → TPA (Tampa)1,29081%15 min
RDU → MSP (Minneapolis)1,22884%15 min
RDU → MDW (Chicago)96180%13 min
RDU → IAH (Houston)92481%18 min
RDU → SEA (Seattle)91879%12 min
RDU → SFO (San Francisco)88681%14 min
RDU → PHX (Phoenix)83481%12 min
RDU → LAX (Los Angeles)79183%15 min
RDU → PIT (Pittsburgh)71885%11 min
RDU → STL (St. Louis)65583%10 min
RDU → LAS (Las Vegas)61383%9 min
RDU → AUS (Austin)52180%13 min
RDU → SJU (San Juan)46771%29 min
RDU → DAL (Dallas)42274%15 min
RDU → SLC (Salt Lake City)38383%13 min
RDU → HOU (Houston)35484%9 min
RDU → CLE (Cleveland)20779%20 min
RDU → BUF (Buffalo)10670%21 min
RDU → SAN (San Diego)10181%11 min

Compare airlines departing RDU ↓

Where flights into RDU come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → RDU4,62979%14 min
ORD (Chicago) → RDU3,65676%19 min
CLT (Charlotte) → RDU3,04576%17 min
BOS (Boston) → RDU2,82877%18 min
MCO (Orlando) → RDU2,70477%20 min
PHL (Philadelphia) → RDU2,60274%21 min
LGA (New York) → RDU2,59877%18 min
MIA (Miami) → RDU2,35672%23 min

Most reliable routes

  1. RDU → IAD88%
  2. RDU → DTW86%
  3. RDU → ATL85%
  4. RDU → PIT85%
  5. RDU → BWI85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. RDU → DCA67%
  2. RDU → BUF70%
  3. RDU → SJU71%
  4. RDU → LGA72%
  5. RDU → EWR72%

What causes delays at RDU

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft43%
  • Airline operations27%
  • National airspace system25%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near Raleigh/Durham

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
GSO — Piedmont Triad International Airport66 mi83%16 min
OAJ — Albert J Ellis Airport98 mi82%20 min
USA — Concord-Padgett Regional Airport113 mi58%41 min
ROA — Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport120 mi75%27 min

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

Airline performance at RDU

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
SkyWest Airlines85%16 min1,277
United Airlines84%17 min12,244
Delta Air Lines84%14 min24,515
Envoy Air82%16 min2,351
Republic Airways81%16 min14,894
Endeavor Air81%18 min3,127
American Airlines79%21 min21,428
Southwest Airlines78%13 min18,891
JetBlue Airways77%19 min6,370
Alaska Airlines75%14 min1,249
Frontier Airlines74%25 min9,016
PSA Airlines70%30 min2,469
Spirit Airlines66%28 min1,099

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at RDU?
20% of departures from Raleigh-Durham International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 17 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from RDU?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 93% of the time at RDU, versus 64% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at RDU?
In this dataset, July 2026 was the weakest month at RDU, with 69% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at RDU?
2.1% of scheduled departures from RDU were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 118,930 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.