Airport month record
CLTDEC
Charlotte Douglas International in December 2025
- Departures
- 14,975
- Month
- December 2025
- National, same month
- 73.2%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for December 2025, not live status or a forecast for this year’s December. For today’s conditions at CLT, see live FAA status.
CLT in December sits in the middle of the pack with a C+. Close to three flights in four arrive on time by the DOT's definition, level with the national rate of 73.2%. The late ones land about an hour behind schedule. That rests on 14,975 flights, of which Envoy Air flew 466 at 82.9% on time.
Envoy Air is the most reliable of the five carriers covered here at 82.9% on time across 466 flights.
Key figures
On time
73.3%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 14,816 completed departures
Avg delay
67 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
0.82%
Nationally in December: 1.55%
Whole year
76.1%
CLT across all twelve months
These figures cover 14,975 departures from Charlotte Douglas International in December 2025. 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
December next to CLT's other months
Against CLT's own year, December ran 3 points worse than the twelve-month rate of 76.1%, which makes it number nine of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for CLT in December, at 0.82% against 2.06% across the year. Either side of it, November ran 81.1% on time and January 80.7%, so a trip moved by a few weeks would have landed in a better stretch.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 15,192 | 84.0% | 67 min | 0.37% | B+ |
| October 2025 | 16,273 | 81.2% | 65 min | 0.23% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 14,945 | 81.1% | 69 min | 1.45% | B |
| December 2025 (this page) | 14,975 | 73.3% | 67 min | 0.82% | C+ |
| January 2026 | 14,222 | 80.7% | 73 min | 10.98% | B− |
| February 2026 | 13,192 | 78.7% | 70 min | 3.43% | B− |
| March 2026 | 15,278 | 75.7% | 76 min | 2.38% | B |
| April 2026 | 15,396 | 78.8% | 64 min | 0.23% | B+ |
| May 2026 | 15,778 | 77.4% | 64 min | 0.30% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 15,079 | 72.1% | 77 min | 1.67% | C |
| July 2026 | 15,548 | 63.8% | 82 min | 2.23% | D |
| August 2026 | 15,125 | 67.1% | 83 min | 1.57% | C |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave CLT in December
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 16 points, against 15 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am1,161 flights84.7%
- 8am–11am2,586 flights80.9%
- 11am–2pm2,739 flights75.2%
- 2pm–5pm2,596 flights68.7%
- 5pm–8pm2,701 flights68.6%
- 8pm–5am3,192 flights69.2%
Scale runs 60% to 90%.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 84.7% of the time, against 68.6% for the evening window. That is 16 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 8pm–5am window is the busiest, with 3,192 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 84.9% on time and Sunday the weakest at 54.7%, a spread of 30 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at CLT in December
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Envoy Air arrives on time 82.9% of the time; PSA Airlines manages 67.6%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 3,365 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,353 | 74.8% | 61 min | 0.29% | C+ |
| PSA Airlines | 3,365 | 67.6% | 77 min | 1.93% | C |
| Envoy Air | 466 | 82.9% | 40 min | 0.43% | B+ |
| Delta Air Lines | 402 | 79.1% | 103 min | 1.00% | B |
| Republic Airways | 383 | 79.9% | 74 min | 2.09% | B |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 278 | 74.5% | 53 min | 1.08% | C |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 250 | 62.1% | 83 min | 4.00% | D− |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 232 | 62.3% | 77 min | 1.72% | D |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 156 | 78.2% | 66 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 90 | 71.6% | 145 min | 0.00% | C+ |
The spread between Envoy and PSA is 15 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 15 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of CLT in December
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLT to MCO · Orlando | 389 | 71.9% | 64 min | 0.77% | C+ |
| CLT to LGA · New York | 385 | 69.0% | 70 min | 3.12% | C− |
| CLT to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 355 | 72.6% | 77 min | 0.56% | C+ |
| CLT to MIA · Miamithin sample | 355 | 75.9% | 58 min | 0.56% | B+ |
| CLT to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 337 | 78.7% | 105 min | 0.59% | B+ |
| CLT to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 331 | 81.8% | 54 min | 0.30% | B+ |
| CLT to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 322 | 82.6% | 52 min | 0.31% | B+ |
| CLT to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 318 | 67.3% | 80 min | 1.57% | C |
| CLT to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 303 | 72.5% | 64 min | 1.65% | C |
| CLT to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 298 | 74.1% | 59 min | 0.34% | C+ |
| CLT to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 290 | 75.3% | 82 min | 0.69% | B+ |
| CLT to TPA · Tampathin sample | 272 | 74.5% | 61 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CLT to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 260 | 68.5% | 61 min | 1.15% | C |
| CLT to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 260 | 74.2% | 72 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CLT to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 248 | 75.7% | 47 min | 0.40% | B+ |
| CLT to DEN · Denverthin sample | 238 | 72.0% | 53 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CLT to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 233 | 80.7% | 47 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CLT to CHS · Charlestonthin sample | 224 | 67.7% | 70 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CLT to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 209 | 68.9% | 44 min | 0.00% | C+ |
| CLT to RIC · Richmondthin sample | 206 | 75.6% | 88 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CLT to LAX · Los Angelesthin sample | 197 | 78.7% | 52 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CLT to ORF · Norfolkthin sample | 191 | 68.9% | 82 min | 0.52% | C+ |
| CLT to LAS · Las Vegasthin sample | 185 | 84.9% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CLT to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 184 | 75.5% | 66 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| CLT to MYR · Myrtle Beachthin sample | 181 | 70.6% | 65 min | 0.00% | C+ |
Delay causes
What held CLT up in December
Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 53% of the 265,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 53%Late-arriving aircraft
- 30%Carrier
- 13%National Airspace System
- 3%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
53% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 265,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 15 to one. The split is drawn from 265,260 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations are rare at 0.82%, below the national 1.55% 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.
9.4% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 10.0% nationally. Ninety minutes is the honest minimum for a connection here, and two hours if the onward flight is on a separate ticket.
What to do with this
Flying from CLT in December
For a December trip through CLT: expect 73.3% on time and 0.82% cancelled, going by December 2025. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Charlotte Douglas International (CLT), the whole year
- CLT in September84.0%
- CLT in October81.2%
- CLT in November81.1%
- CLT in January80.7%
- CLT in February78.7%
- CLT in March75.7%
- CLT in April78.8%
- CLT in May77.4%
- CLT in June72.1%
- CLT in July63.8%
- CLT in August67.1%
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.