Airport month record
CLTFEB
Charlotte Douglas International in February 2026
- Departures
- 13,192
- Month
- February 2026
- National, same month
- 80.2%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for February 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s February. For today’s conditions at CLT, see live FAA status.
CLT in February carries a cancellation problem, not just a delay problem: 3.4% of scheduled flights never operate, against 2.3% nationally. Of the ones that do fly, about four flights in five arrive on time, worth a B− overall. The punctuality figure counts only flights that actually departed, so it flatters an operation that cancels this often. That rests on 13,192 flights, of which Delta Air Lines flew 398 at 88.5% on time.
Delta Air Lines is the most reliable of the four carriers covered here at 88.5% on time across 398 flights.
Key figures
On time
78.7%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 12,711 completed departures
Avg delay
70 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
3.43%
Nationally in February: 2.25%
Whole year
76.7%
CLT across all twelve months
These figures cover 13,192 departures from Charlotte Douglas 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 CLT's other months
Against CLT's own year, February ran 2 points better than the twelve-month rate of 76.7%, which makes it number six of twelve months, best first. Cancellations are where February stands out: 3.43% of scheduled departures were called off, 1.7 times the airport's rate across the year. Either side of it, January ran 80.7% on time and March 75.7%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2025 | 16,447 | 65.7% | 79 min | 2.31% | C |
| August 2025 | 15,628 | 72.8% | 71 min | 0.91% | C+ |
| 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 | 14,975 | 73.3% | 67 min | 0.82% | C+ |
| January 2026 | 14,222 | 80.7% | 73 min | 10.98% | B− |
| February 2026 (this page) | 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 |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave CLT in February
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 18 points, against 11 points between the best and worst carrier. Each bar is the on-time rate for flights scheduled inside that window.
- 5am–8am936 flights92.2%
- 8am–11am2,257 flights84.0%
- 11am–2pm2,245 flights79.9%
- 2pm–5pm2,402 flights76.1%
- 5pm–8pm2,530 flights73.9%
- 8pm–5am2,822 flights75.6%
Scale runs 65% to 100%. Rows with fewer than 30 flights show a dash.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 92.2% of the time, against 73.9% for the evening window. That is 18 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 2,822 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 88.0% on time and Sunday the weakest at 64.9%. 23 points is a smaller lever than departure hour, but it is free.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at CLT in February
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Delta Air Lines arrives on time 88.5% of the time; PSA Airlines manages 77.1%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,619 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 8,402 | 78.4% | 69 min | 2.95% | B |
| PSA Airlines | 2,619 | 77.1% | 69 min | 3.97% | B− |
| Envoy Air | 439 | 82.1% | 64 min | 3.42% | B− |
| Delta Air Lines | 398 | 88.5% | 87 min | 2.01% | A |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 294 | 85.5% | 52 min | 6.46% | A− |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 235 | 81.2% | 48 min | 2.55% | B |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 227 | 81.8% | 71 min | 3.08% | B− |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 225 | 71.0% | 64 min | 11.11% | C− |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 194 | 76.7% | 147 min | 6.19% | B− |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 159 | 77.5% | 65 min | 5.03% | B− |
PSA Airlines cancels 4.0% 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 CLT in February
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLT to MCO · Orlando | 371 | 76.3% | 77 min | 2.16% | B |
| CLT to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 318 | 76.8% | 76 min | 10.38% | B− |
| CLT to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 317 | 85.3% | 54 min | 3.15% | A− |
| CLT to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 308 | 78.7% | 55 min | 2.27% | B |
| CLT to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 299 | 77.1% | 73 min | 9.03% | B− |
| CLT to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 291 | 80.7% | 66 min | 2.06% | B |
| CLT to MIA · Miamithin sample | 287 | 83.7% | 56 min | 3.14% | B− |
| CLT to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 275 | 80.6% | 67 min | 8.00% | B− |
| CLT to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 262 | 86.2% | 95 min | 3.05% | A− |
| CLT to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 260 | 79.1% | 62 min | 4.23% | B− |
| CLT to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 260 | 80.4% | 67 min | 7.31% | B− |
| CLT to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 248 | 76.2% | 67 min | 2.82% | B |
| CLT to TPA · Tampathin sample | 245 | 79.3% | 91 min | 1.63% | B |
| CLT to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 230 | 83.7% | 60 min | 1.30% | B |
| CLT to DEN · Denverthin sample | 218 | 79.7% | 58 min | 2.75% | B |
| CLT to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 217 | 76.5% | 66 min | 1.84% | B |
| CLT to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 192 | 64.1% | 47 min | 3.65% | D− |
| CLT to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 190 | 79.8% | 55 min | 3.68% | B− |
| CLT to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 190 | 88.6% | 83 min | 2.11% | A |
| CLT to RIC · Richmondthin sample | 186 | 77.2% | 50 min | 3.23% | B− |
| CLT to CHS · Charlestonthin sample | 183 | 81.0% | 73 min | 2.19% | B |
| CLT to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 179 | 84.6% | 131 min | 2.23% | B |
| CLT to IAD · Washingtonthin sample | 177 | 82.2% | 52 min | 1.69% | B |
| CLT to MYR · Myrtle Beachthin sample | 172 | 78.7% | 60 min | 4.65% | B− |
| CLT to ORF · Norfolkthin sample | 171 | 78.8% | 80 min | 3.51% | B− |
Delay causes
What held CLT up in February
One category carries most of the weight here. Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 49% of the 189,000 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%Late-arriving aircraft
- 29%Carrier
- 12%National Airspace System
- 10%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
49% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. That is a cascade, and cascades start small and grow through the day. Across 189,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 5 to one. It is the strongest argument for booking the first departure of the morning, when the aircraft has been sitting at the gate overnight with nothing to inherit. The split is drawn from 188,899 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations run at 3.43%, against 2.25% nationally. That is about one flight in 30 cancelled outright. A cancelled flight is invisible in every on-time figure on this page, so the punctuality numbers above describe only the flights that actually operated.
7.5% 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 a little over an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from CLT in February
For a February trip through CLT: expect 78.7% on time and 3.43% cancelled, going by February 2026. 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 July65.7%
- CLT in August72.8%
- CLT in September84.0%
- CLT in October81.2%
- CLT in November81.1%
- CLT in December73.3%
- CLT in January80.7%
- CLT in March75.7%
- CLT in April78.8%
- CLT in May77.4%
- CLT in June72.1%
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.