Route reliability
Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Atlanta (ATL): which airline is most on time?
On-time arrivals, cancellations and long delays for every airline that reported nonstop flights from Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) to Atlanta, GA (ATL), September 2025 to August 2026.
Raleigh/Durham, NCAtlanta, GA
Route at a glance · September 2025 to August 2026
RDU to ATL
Raleigh/Durham, NC to Atlanta, GA
- On time
- 85.0%vs 75.6% U.S. average Better than average
- Cancelled
- 1.6%vs 1.9% U.S. average About average
- 60+ min late
- 5.2%vs 8.1% U.S. average Better than average
- Scheduled flights
- 4,643in 12 months3 airlines
- Most reliable airline
- Delta Air Lines86.8% on time · 3,812 flights
On time more often than the U.S. average, with a typical cancellation rate.
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) | 89.2% | 1.1% | 2.7% | 62 min | 0.0% | 185 |
| 2. Delta Air Lines Most reliable | 86.8% | 1.5% | 4.4% | 82 min | 0.2% | 3,812 |
| 3. Frontier Airlines | 72.9% | 2.3% | 10.7% | 99 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 Raleigh/Durham (RDU) to Atlanta (ATL): 86.8% of its 3,812 scheduled flights arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, compared with 72.9% for Frontier Airlines.
- Southwest Airlines (89.2% on 185 flights) scored higher but flew the route far less often, so that result is less certain.
- 1.6% of flights on this route were cancelled (about 1 in 63), about the same as the U.S. average of 1.9%.
- 5.2% of flights, about 1 in 19, arrived an hour or more late. When a flight was late (15+ minutes), the average arrival delay was 86 min.
- Overall, 85.0% of flights on this route arrived on time, 9.4 points higher than the U.S. average of 75.6%.
- Over the last 3 years, October was the most reliable month on this route (89.5% on time) and July the least reliable (73.7%).
- Cancellations peaked in January, when 3.6% of flights were cancelled.
- Flights scheduled to depart 9 am to 10 am were the most punctual (94.6% on time); flights scheduled to depart 7 pm to 8 pm were the least (73.3%).
- In the other direction, Atlanta (ATL) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU), 78.7% of flights were on time and 1.5% were cancelled. Compare airlines ATL to RDU.
Best and worst months to fly RDU to ATL
Share of scheduled flights on time 12-month average 85.0%
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 81.9% | 1,073 |
| February | 89.0% | 987 |
| March | 83.3% | 1,153 |
| April | 87.7% | 1,128 |
| May | 79.7% | 1,170 |
| June | 83.6% | 1,184 |
| July | 73.7% | 1,231 |
| August | 83.5% | 1,229 |
| September | 89.4% | 1,196 |
| October | 89.5% | 1,263 |
| November | 86.8% | 1,183 |
| December | 84.5% | 1,192 |
| Airline | Best month | Worst month |
|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | September (91.3%) | July (74.7%) |
| Delta Air Lines | September (92.7%) | July (74.6%) |
| Frontier Airlines | February (76.3%) | May (62.3%) |
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 | 95.5% | 401 |
| Oct 2025 | 89.2% | 416 |
| Nov 2025 | 85.9% | 397 |
| Dec 2025 | 79.8% | 396 |
| Jan 2026 | 85.7% | 356 |
| Feb 2026 | 90.4% | 324 |
| Mar 2026 | 76.5% | 375 |
| Apr 2026 | 87.1% | 371 |
| May 2026 | 85.6% | 390 |
| Jun 2026 | 89.3% | 392 |
| Jul 2026 | 74.4% | 410 |
| Aug 2026 | 81.2% | 415 |
Best and worst departure times
Share of scheduled flights on time
Show as table
| Period | On time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| Departing before 6 am | 92.4% | 353 |
| Departing 6 am to 7 am | 85.7% | 679 |
| Departing 7 am to 8 am | 86.6% | 314 |
| Departing 8 am to 9 am | 87.6% | 395 |
| Departing 9 am to 10 am | 94.6% | 185 |
| Departing 10 am to 11 am | 93.1% | 159 |
| Departing 11 am to noon | 91.6% | 395 |
| Departing noon to 1 pm | 82.5% | 468 |
| Departing 1 pm to 2 pm | 79.7% | 153 |
| Departing 2 pm to 3 pm | 89.8% | 206 |
| Departing 3 pm to 4 pm | 81.4% | 242 |
| Departing 4 pm to 5 pm | 77.9% | 253 |
| Departing 5 pm to 6 pm | 79.9% | 259 |
| Departing 6 pm to 7 pm | 76.3% | 274 |
| Departing 7 pm to 8 pm | 73.3% | 251 |
| Departing 8 pm to 9 pm | Insufficient sample | 48 |
| Departing 9 pm to 10 pm | Insufficient sample | 3 |
| Departing 10 pm to 11 pm | Insufficient sample | 6 |
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 Raleigh/Durham, NC (RDU) to Atlanta, GA (ATL), 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.