Airport month record
CHSMAY
Charleston International in May 2026
- Departures
- 2,200
- Month
- May 2026
- National, same month
- 78.6%
- Carriers
- 8
Historical statistics for May 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s May. For today’s conditions at CHS, see live FAA status.
CHS in May lands a B+, 2 points better than the national rate of 78.6%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by a little over an hour on average. That rests on 2,200 flights, of which Delta Air Lines flew 413 at 84.5% on time.
Key figures
On time
80.9%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 2,178 completed departures
Avg delay
82 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
0.73%
Nationally in May: 0.92%
Whole year
78.9%
CHS across all twelve months
These figures cover 2,200 departures from Charleston International in May 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
May next to CHS's other months
Against CHS's own year, May ran 2 points better than the twelve-month rate of 78.9%, which makes it number five of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for CHS in May, at 0.73% against 2.47% across the year. Either side of it, April ran 81.5% on time and June 77.5%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 1,881 | 84.5% | 67 min | 0.32% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 2,149 | 79.5% | 81 min | 0.47% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 2,082 | 80.6% | 87 min | 2.21% | B |
| December 2025 | 2,030 | 75.9% | 87 min | 1.92% | B |
| January 2026 | 1,817 | 82.3% | 86 min | 6.66% | B− |
| February 2026 | 1,680 | 81.8% | 77 min | 3.75% | B− |
| March 2026 | 2,199 | 78.9% | 89 min | 4.23% | B− |
| April 2026 | 2,167 | 81.5% | 81 min | 0.74% | B+ |
| May 2026 (this page) | 2,200 | 80.9% | 82 min | 0.73% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 2,117 | 77.5% | 89 min | 2.41% | B |
| July 2026 | 2,172 | 71.6% | 102 min | 3.87% | C− |
| August 2026 | 2,023 | 73.0% | 86 min | 2.97% | C |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave CHS in May
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 30 points, against 5 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am469 flights93.1%
- 8am–11am209 flights93.8%
- 11am–2pm440 flights84.0%
- 2pm–5pm427 flights71.7%
- 5pm–8pm493 flights74.5%
- 8pm–5am162 flights64.2%
Scale runs 55% to 100%.
The 8pm–5am window is where this operation falls apart: 64.2% on time, against 93.8% for the 8am–11am slot. By evening the aircraft flying these rotations have absorbed a full day of small delays and there is no slack left to recover in. The 5pm–8pm window is the busiest, with 493 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Tuesday is the strongest day at 84.6% on time and Thursday the weakest at 78.2%, a spread of 6 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at CHS in May
The two carriers here are closely matched: 5 points separate the best from the worst. At that spread, schedule and price are better tie-breakers than reliability. Sample sizes are shown so you can see which rows are worth weighing.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 477 | 79.2% | 124 min | 1.05% | B |
| Delta Air Lines | 413 | 84.5% | 58 min | 1.69% | B |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 338 | 77.1% | 43 min | 0.30% | B+ |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 305 | 84.8% | 57 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| PSA Airlinesthin sample | 208 | 74.3% | 107 min | 0.48% | C+ |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 189 | 84.0% | 85 min | 0.53% | B+ |
| JetBlue Airwaysthin sample | 177 | 82.5% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| Alaska Airlinesthin sample | 31 | 80.0% | 47 min | 3.23% | B− |
No carrier stands out. Delta tops the table at 84.5%, 5 points clear of the bottom, which is inside the range this kind of sample moves year to year.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of CHS in May
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CHS to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 290 | 87.1% | 51 min | 1.38% | A |
| CHS to CLT · Charlottethin sample | 216 | 81.9% | 125 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 208 | 79.2% | 82 min | 0.48% | B+ |
| CHS to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 151 | 75.3% | 138 min | 0.66% | B+ |
| CHS to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 125 | 79.2% | 47 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 122 | 74.6% | 139 min | 2.46% | C |
| CHS to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 116 | 79.8% | 112 min | 1.72% | B |
| CHS to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 113 | 81.4% | 44 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 100 | 80.8% | 97 min | 1.00% | B |
| CHS to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 93 | 87.1% | 64 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| CHS to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 87 | 70.1% | 45 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CHS to MIA · Miamithin sample | 85 | 72.6% | 61 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CHS to IAD · Washingtonthin sample | 82 | 92.7% | 64 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| CHS to JFK · New Yorkthin sample | 63 | 87.3% | 122 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| CHS to DEN · Denverthin sample | 49 | 79.2% | 40 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to MDW · Chicagothin sample | 36 | 88.9% | 30 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| CHS to SEA · Seattlethin sample | 31 | 80.0% | 47 min | 3.23% | B− |
| CHS to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 31 | 83.9% | 48 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 31 | 83.9% | 95 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CHS to DAL · Dallasthin sample | 31 | 70.0% | 43 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CHS to STL · St. Louisthin sample | 30 | 79.3% | 48 min | 3.33% | B− |
Delay causes
What held CHS up in May
Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 44% of the 34,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 44%Late-arriving aircraft
- 29%Carrier
- 26%National Airspace System
- 1%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
44% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 34,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 44 to one. The split is drawn from 33,921 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations are rare at 0.73%, below the national 0.92% and low enough to earn the plus on the grade. Roughly one flight in 100 is called off; the risk here is arriving late, not not arriving.
6.5% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 7.1%, so a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from CHS in May
For a May trip through CHS: expect 80.9% on time and 0.73% cancelled, going by May 2026. The 8am–11am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Charleston International (CHS), the whole year
- CHS in September84.5%
- CHS in October79.5%
- CHS in November80.6%
- CHS in December75.9%
- CHS in January82.3%
- CHS in February81.8%
- CHS in March78.9%
- CHS in April81.5%
- CHS in June77.5%
- CHS in July71.6%
- CHS in August73.0%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.