79% of flights leaving Charlottesville (CHO) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 3 points better than the national average of 76%. About 20 flights leave CHO on a typical day; 2.8% were cancelled. 80% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 6 a.m. (87% on time). Worst: 5 p.m. (63%).
- Best month: October (88%). Worst: July (75%).
- Most reliable airline here: American Airlines (81%), vs United Airlines at 75%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (46% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (81% → 79%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving CHO: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 43% of the time. About 1 in 12 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 34 three hours or more; 2.8% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early79%
- 15–30 min late5.3%
- 30–60 min late4.1%
- 1–2 hours late3.8%
- 2–3 hours late1.8%
- 3+ hours late2.9%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled2.8%
Share of all 7,263 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of CHO
Time of day matters more at CHO than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 87% of the time; at 5 p.m. it was 63%, a 24-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 86% on time against 70% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 7 a.m. departures were cancelled 5.0% of the time, against 2.8% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CHO was a 7 a.m. departure in October (97% on time); the least, 5 p.m. in July (47%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at CHO, with 75% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 88%. Summer (June–August) runs 10 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 9 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (5.5% of flights).
Airlines at CHO
American Airlines runs 39% of departures from CHO. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, American Airlines was the most reliable (81% on time) and United Airlines the least (75%), a 6-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 2,858 | 81% | 81% | 2.7% | −13 min |
| United Airlines | 2,381 | 75% | 79% | 3.2% | −8 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 2,024 | 80% | 81% | 2.6% | −16 min |
Why flights are late at CHO
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CHO, 46% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 32%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 205 cancellations, 60% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 20 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 79% of CHO departures were on time, against 81% in the 12 months before, a decline of 2 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (89%); the worst, December 2025 (68%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 100% of 19 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 19 | 100% | 0% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 19 | 58% | 26% |
| Jan 31, 2026 | 15 | 47% | 27% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 22 | 41% | 45% |
| Dec 7, 2025 | 22 | 36% | 9% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 21 | 29% | 19% |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 21 | 29% | 0% |
| Feb 1, 2026 | 19 | 26% | 58% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 23 | 22% | 61% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 15 | 20% | 67% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CHO, each airline's final departure was cancelled 3.8% of the time, against 2.3% for its earlier flights (1.7× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 4.1% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (5.5% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 5:52 p.m. | 5.5% | 8.2% | 54% |
| LGA New York | Delta Air Lines | 2:32 p.m. | 5.7% | 3.7% | 60% |
| IAD Washington | United Airlines | 2:56 p.m. | 2.8% | 4.5% | 81% |
| CLT Charlotte | American Airlines | 8:00 p.m. | 3.6% | 0.8% | 75% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 5:38 p.m. | 1.4% | 3.0% | 79% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of CHO
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CHO the 6 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? American Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of CHO; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at CHO come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from CHO
Where you're going matters too. From CHO, the most reliable busy route was to Washington (IAD, 85% on time) and the least reliable to Chicago (ORD, 65%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 1,236 | 65% | 4.5% | −2 min |
| LGA New York | 1,019 | 69% | 5.8% | −10 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 2,501 | 84% | 2.0% | −14 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,362 | 84% | 1.4% | −17 min |
| IAD Washington | 1,145 | 85% | 1.8% | −12 min |
Flights into CHO
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Charlottesville Albemarle, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (63% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 1,236 | 63% | 4.0% |
| LGA New York | 1,019 | 66% | 5.8% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,362 | 80% | 1.3% |
| IAD Washington | 1,145 | 81% | 2.0% |
| CLT Charlotte | 2,500 | 82% | 2.0% |
Questions about CHO delays
What is the best time to fly out of CHO?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 87% of CHO departures at that hour arrived on time, against 63% at 5 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at CHO?
July (75% on time). October is the best month (88%).
Which airline is most on time at CHO?
American Airlines: 81% of its CHO departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 75%.
Why are flights delayed at CHO?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (46% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (32%).
How often are flights cancelled at CHO?
2.8% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 5.5%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.