71% of flights leaving Charleston (CRW) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 4 points worse than the national average of 76%. About 10 flights leave CRW on a typical day; 4.0% were cancelled. 72% 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: 11 a.m. (78% on time). Worst: 5 p.m. (48%).
- Best month: October (83%). Worst: January (58%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (76%), vs American Airlines at 73%.
- Biggest delay cause: the airlines themselves (38% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (74% → 71%).
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 CRW: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 45% of the time. About 1 in 9 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 26 three hours or more; 4.0% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early71%
- 15–30 min late7.2%
- 30–60 min late6.2%
- 1–2 hours late5.4%
- 2–3 hours late1.9%
- 3+ hours late3.9%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled4.0%
Share of all 3,757 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of CRW
Time of day matters more at CRW than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 11 a.m. arrived on time 78% of the time; at 5 p.m. it was 48%, a 30-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 78% on time against 56% 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.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at CRW was a 6 a.m. departure in October (94% on time); the least, 6 p.m. in August (51%). 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
January is the hardest month at CRW, with 58% of flights on time across 2023–2026; October is the best at 83%. Summer (June–August) runs 11 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 14 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (9.8% of flights).
Airlines at CRW
American Airlines runs 39% of departures from CRW. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (76% on time) and American Airlines the least (73%), a 2-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 | 1,474 | 73% | 74% | 5.4% | −11 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,341 | 76% | 75% | 2.5% | −12 min |
| United Airlines | 942 | 61% | 67% | 3.9% | +2 min |
Why flights are late at CRW
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At CRW, 38% of delay minutes came from the airlines themselves: crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Next is late-arriving aircraft at 35%. Of the 151 cancellations, 79% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 23 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.
CRW vs nearby airports
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRW Yeager | — | 3,757 | 71% | 4.0% |
| HTS Tri-State / Milton J. Ferguson | 52 mi | 1,469 | 73% | 1.6% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 71% of CRW departures were on time, against 74% in the 12 months before, a decline of 3 points. The best recent month was October 2025 (84%); the worst, January 2026 (57%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 100% of 10 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 | 10 | 100% | 0% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 10 | 60% | 0% |
| Dec 8, 2025 | 11 | 45% | 9% |
| Mar 17, 2026 | 10 | 30% | 10% |
| Nov 8, 2025 | 10 | 30% | 50% |
| Feb 1, 2026 | 10 | 30% | 30% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 10 | 30% | 10% |
| Nov 10, 2025 | 11 | 27% | 27% |
| Jul 7, 2026 | 11 | 27% | 64% |
| Aug 10, 2026 | 11 | 27% | 45% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from CRW, each airline's final departure was cancelled 4.4% of the time, against 2.8% for its earlier flights (1.5× 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. 3.8% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was United Airlines to Chicago (5.8% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | United Airlines | 5:57 p.m. | 5.8% | 6.3% | 45% |
| CLT Charlotte | American Airlines | 8:05 p.m. | 5.2% | 1.9% | 62% |
| ATL Atlanta | Delta Air Lines | 6:51 p.m. | 2.2% | 3.0% | 73% |
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 CRW
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At CRW the 11 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in January? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of CRW; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Delayed already? Most delays at CRW come from the airlines themselves. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from CRW
Where you're going matters too. From CRW, the most reliable busy route was to Atlanta (ATL, 76% on time) and the least reliable to Charlotte (CLT, 75%). 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 | 942 | 61% | 3.9% | +2 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,134 | 75% | 3.8% | −10 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,341 | 76% | 2.5% | −12 min |
Flights into CRW
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Yeager, least reliable first. The weakest is from Chicago (58% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago | 942 | 58% | 3.2% |
| CLT Charlotte | 1,134 | 70% | 4.0% |
| ATL Atlanta | 1,341 | 72% | 2.5% |
Questions about CRW delays
What is the best time to fly out of CRW?
Flights scheduled at 11 a.m.: over the past year 78% of CRW departures at that hour arrived on time, against 48% at 5 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at CRW?
January (58% on time). October is the best month (83%).
Which airline is most on time at CRW?
Delta Air Lines: 76% of its CRW departures arrived on time over the past year. American Airlines had the weakest record at 73%.
Why are flights delayed at CRW?
The biggest cause was the airlines themselves (38% of delay minutes): crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling and baggage. Then late-arriving aircraft (35%).
How often are flights cancelled at CRW?
4.0% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 9.8%.
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.