Route reliability
Atlanta (ATL) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU), September 2025 to August 2026.
Atlanta, GARaleigh/Durham, NC
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
ATL to RDU
Atlanta, GA to Raleigh/Durham, NC
- On time
- 78.7%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
- Cancelled
- 1.5%vs 1.9% U.S. average Better than average
- 60+ min late
- 6.4%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
- Scheduled flights
- 4,642in 12 months3 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines81.7% on time · 3,811 flights
On time more often than the U.S. average, with fewer cancellations.
Airlines on this route
Ranked by on-time arrival
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | 60+ min late | Avg delay when late | Diverted | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Southwest Airlines Small sample (under 300 flights) | 87.6% | 1.1% | 4.3% | 65 min | 0.0% | 185 |
| 2. Delta Air Lines Most reliable | 81.7% | 1.3% | 4.9% | 58 min | 0.2% | 3,811 |
| 3. Frontier Airlines | 58.5% | 2.8% | 15.5% | 74 min | 0.0% | 646 |
On time = arrived within 15 minutes of schedule. Avg delay when late = average arrival delay of flights 15+ minutes late. "Most reliable" needs at least 300 flights in 12 months. Tap a heading to sort.
What this means
Delta Air Lines has the strongest record on this route.
- Delta Air Lines had the best on-time record from Atlanta (ATL) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU): 81.7% of its 3,811 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 58.5% for Frontier Airlines.
- Southwest Airlines (87.6% on 185 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
- 1.5% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 67), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 6.4% of flights, about 1 in 16, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 62 min.
- Overall, 78.7% of flights on this route arrived on time, 3.1 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, September was the most reliable month on this route (88.1% on time) and July the least reliable (64.8%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 3.6% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 9 am to 10 am were the most punctual (95.9% on time); flights scheduled to depart 10 pm to 11 pm were the least (60.7%).
- In the other direction, Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Atlanta (ATL), 85.0% of flights were on time and 1.6% were cancelled. Compare airlines RDU to ATL.
Best and worst months to fly ATL to RDU
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 78.7%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 78.9% | 1,074 |
| February | 83.0% | 987 |
| March | 77.7% | 1,153 |
| April | 80.1% | 1,129 |
| May | 75.6% | 1,169 |
| June | 77.7% | 1,186 |
| July | 64.8% | 1,231 |
| August | 79.2% | 1,229 |
| September | 88.1% | 1,196 |
| October | 85.8% | 1,258 |
| November | 87.4% | 1,183 |
| December | 80.9% | 1,189 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | November (90.3%) | July (65.7%) |
| Delta Air Lines | September (90.7%) | July (65.4%) |
| Frontier Airlines | November (72.8%) | March (52.5%) |
Month by month, last 12 months
Share of scheduled flights on time U.S. average 75.6%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2025 | 91.3% | 401 |
| Oct 2025 | 83.2% | 416 |
| Nov 2025 | 81.6% | 396 |
| Dec 2025 | 75.7% | 395 |
| Jan 2026 | 78.9% | 356 |
| Feb 2026 | 79.6% | 324 |
| Mar 2026 | 69.7% | 376 |
| Apr 2026 | 78.7% | 371 |
| May 2026 | 80.3% | 390 |
| Jun 2026 | 81.6% | 392 |
| Jul 2026 | 63.9% | 410 |
| Aug 2026 | 79.8% | 415 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 78.4% | 88 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 89.5% | 334 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 90.4% | 314 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 95.9% | 121 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 85.1% | 403 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 84.5% | 226 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 89.7% | 204 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 83.3% | 192 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 79.6% | 279 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 77.8% | 315 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 76.5% | 187 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 76.6% | 380 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | Insufficient sample | 38 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 74.6% | 323 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | 77.9% | 317 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | 70.0% | 327 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | 60.7% | 524 |
| Departing 11 pm to midnight | 61.4% | 70 |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance (1987-present)
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026 (12 months); month-of-year patterns September 2023 to August 2026
- Data through
- August 2026
- Processed
- 2026-11-03
- Scope
- Nonstop scheduled flights from Atlanta, GA (ATL) to Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU), one direction. Airlines that report to the DOT only.
- Method
- Rates use all scheduled flights as the denominator; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Figures based on fewer than 50 scheduled flights are suppressed. Full methodology.