Airport month record
ATLFEB
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in February 2026
- Departures
- 23,024
- Month
- February 2026
- National, same month
- 80.2%
- Carriers
- 12
Historical statistics for February 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s February. For today’s conditions at ATL, see live FAA status.
ATL in February lands a B, level with the national rate of 80.2%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by about an hour on average. That is a workable record, not a spotless one. That rests on 23,024 flights, of which United Airlines flew 557 at 87.8% on time.
United Airlines is the most reliable of the seven carriers covered here at 87.8% on time across 557 flights.
Key figures
On time
80.3%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 22,633 completed departures
Avg delay
56 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
1.49%
Nationally in February: 2.25%
Whole year
78.4%
ATL across all twelve months
These figures cover 23,024 departures from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International in February 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
February next to ATL's other months
Against ATL's own year, February ran 2 points better than the twelve-month rate of 78.4%, which makes it number five of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, January ran 78.3% on time and March 74.8%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a worse stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 28,551 | 68.8% | 75 min | 1.59% | C |
| August 2025 | 27,353 | 78.4% | 67 min | 0.85% | B+ |
| September 2025 | 25,839 | 86.5% | 54 min | 0.07% | A+ |
| October 2025 | 27,556 | 81.6% | 57 min | 0.20% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 25,888 | 80.3% | 66 min | 2.45% | B |
| December 2025 | 25,764 | 73.2% | 69 min | 2.38% | C |
| January 2026 | 24,595 | 78.3% | 61 min | 5.00% | B− |
| February 2026 (this page) | 23,024 | 80.3% | 56 min | 1.49% | B |
| March 2026 | 26,669 | 74.8% | 71 min | 3.46% | C− |
| April 2026 | 26,607 | 82.1% | 57 min | 1.00% | B |
| May 2026 | 27,535 | 77.2% | 61 min | 1.18% | B |
| June 2026 | 26,961 | 80.1% | 70 min | 1.38% | B |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave ATL in February
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 14 points, against 28 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am1,524 flights89.7%
- 8am–11am4,945 flights84.8%
- 11am–2pm3,633 flights81.0%
- 2pm–5pm4,445 flights78.8%
- 5pm–8pm3,690 flights75.9%
- 8pm–5am4,787 flights77.1%
Scale runs 65% to 95%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 89.7% of the time, against 75.9% for the evening window. That is 14 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 4,945 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 87.3% on time and Sunday the weakest at 68.4%. 19 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at ATL in February
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. United Airlines arrives on time 87.8% of the time; Spirit Airlines manages 59.5%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 421 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 17,356 | 81.7% | 47 min | 1.22% | B |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,479 | 69.2% | 81 min | 1.15% | C |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,351 | 82.5% | 47 min | 1.18% | B |
| United Airlines | 557 | 87.8% | 56 min | 2.51% | A |
| SkyWest Airlines | 520 | 67.8% | 134 min | 1.73% | C |
| American Airlines | 451 | 84.6% | 94 min | 0.44% | B+ |
| Spirit Airlines | 421 | 59.5% | 75 min | 5.94% | D− |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 251 | 82.5% | 70 min | 6.77% | B− |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 228 | 77.8% | 64 min | 7.02% | B− |
| JetBlue Airwaysthin sample | 197 | 67.8% | 69 min | 7.11% | C− |
| Envoy Airthin sample | 137 | 76.3% | 70 min | 1.46% | B |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 76 | 86.7% | 29 min | 0.00% | A+ |
Spirit Airlines cancels 5.9% of what it schedules here, the highest in the table. A cancelled flight never appears in an on-time rate, so read that column alongside the punctuality one rather than after it.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of ATL in February
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATL to LGA · New York | 672 | 78.1% | 53 min | 7.59% | B− |
| ATL to MCO · Orlando | 662 | 73.4% | 75 min | 0.76% | C+ |
| ATL to FLL · Fort Lauderdale | 660 | 68.7% | 62 min | 2.27% | C |
| ATL to DCA · Washington | 528 | 67.2% | 49 min | 3.03% | C− |
| ATL to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worth | 502 | 83.3% | 60 min | 1.00% | B |
| ATL to MIA · Miami | 491 | 75.2% | 73 min | 0.41% | B+ |
| ATL to TPA · Tampa | 489 | 79.7% | 49 min | 0.20% | B+ |
| ATL to EWR · Newark | 486 | 80.7% | 54 min | 8.02% | B− |
| ATL to ORD · Chicago | 445 | 75.5% | 51 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| ATL to DEN · Denver | 410 | 80.1% | 57 min | 0.49% | B+ |
| ATL to PHL · Philadelphia | 406 | 75.7% | 53 min | 5.91% | B− |
| ATL to IAH · Houston | 384 | 85.9% | 64 min | 0.26% | A+ |
| ATL to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 356 | 80.6% | 66 min | 0.28% | B+ |
| ATL to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 346 | 76.6% | 48 min | 1.73% | B |
| ATL to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 340 | 75.6% | 45 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| ATL to AUS · Austinthin sample | 332 | 92.7% | 79 min | 0.90% | A+ |
| ATL to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 327 | 77.0% | 67 min | 6.73% | B− |
| ATL to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 324 | 79.6% | 46 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| ATL to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 323 | 78.6% | 43 min | 0.31% | B+ |
| ATL to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 317 | 86.1% | 58 min | 2.52% | A |
| ATL to MSY · New Orleansthin sample | 316 | 85.9% | 50 min | 0.95% | A+ |
| ATL to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 306 | 77.8% | 75 min | 7.19% | B− |
| ATL to PBI · West Palm Beachthin sample | 305 | 75.0% | 50 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| ATL to JAX · Jacksonvillethin sample | 302 | 78.6% | 44 min | 0.99% | B+ |
| ATL to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 289 | 84.7% | 43 min | 0.35% | B+ |
Delay causes
What held ATL up in February
One category carries most of the weight here. Carrier accounts for 49% of the 249,000 delay minutes carriers reported, and the remaining four split what is left. The split is by minutes rather than by flights, so a few very long delays count for as much as many short ones.
- 49%Carrier
- 26%Late-arriving aircraft
- 22%National Airspace System
- 2%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
The largest share of delay minutes, 49%, falls under carrier control: crew scheduling, maintenance, fuelling, baggage. Unlike weather, that is a management outcome, and it is the category where the gap between two carriers on the same schedule is genuinely earned. It accounts for 123,000 of the 249,000 delay minutes reported here. The split is drawn from 249,360 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 1.49% against a national 2.25%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.21%.
5.0% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 6.5%. That is the figure that decides a connection, and it says a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last about an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from ATL in February
For a February trip through ATL: expect 80.3% on time and 1.49% cancelled, going by February 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL), the whole year
- ATL in July68.8%
- ATL in August78.4%
- ATL in September86.5%
- ATL in October81.6%
- ATL in November80.3%
- ATL in December73.2%
- ATL in January78.3%
- ATL in March74.8%
- ATL in April82.1%
- ATL in May77.2%
- ATL in June80.1%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.