Airport month record
CLTMAR
Charlotte Douglas International in March 2026
- Departures
- 15,278
- Month
- March 2026
- National, same month
- 75.7%
- Carriers
- 10
Historical statistics for March 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s March. For today’s conditions at CLT, see live FAA status.
CLT in March sits in the middle of the pack with a B. Close to three flights in four arrive on time by the DOT's definition, level with the national rate of 75.7%. The late ones land a little over an hour behind schedule. That rests on 15,278 flights, of which Delta Air Lines flew 449 at 85.0% on time.
Delta Air Lines is the most reliable of the four carriers covered here at 85.0% on time across 449 flights.
Key figures
On time
75.7%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 14,870 completed departures
Avg delay
76 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
2.38%
Nationally in March: 2.90%
Whole year
76.1%
CLT across all twelve months
These figures cover 15,278 departures from Charlotte Douglas International in March 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
March next to CLT's other months
Against CLT's own year, March ran level with the twelve-month rate of 76.1%, which makes it number eight of twelve months, best first. Either side of it, February ran 78.7% on time and April 78.8%, 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 | 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 (this page) | 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 March
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 22 points, against 12 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am1,445 flights88.9%
- 8am–11am2,198 flights83.0%
- 11am–2pm2,765 flights78.8%
- 2pm–5pm2,650 flights73.2%
- 5pm–8pm2,641 flights72.7%
- 8pm–5am3,579 flights67.4%
Scale runs 60% to 95%.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 88.9% of the time, against 67.4% for the overnight window. That is 22 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 3,579 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Wednesday is the strongest day at 83.8% on time and Thursday the weakest at 70.2%, a spread of 14 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at CLT in March
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. Delta Air Lines arrives on time 85.0% of the time; PSA Airlines manages 73.5%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 3,054 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| American Airlines | 9,717 | 75.8% | 71 min | 1.62% | B |
| PSA Airlines | 3,054 | 73.5% | 76 min | 3.70% | C− |
| Envoy Air | 501 | 84.2% | 86 min | 1.60% | B |
| Delta Air Lines | 449 | 85.0% | 109 min | 2.23% | A |
| Republic Airwaysthin sample | 323 | 81.9% | 98 min | 4.02% | B− |
| Frontier Airlinesthin sample | 297 | 65.9% | 125 min | 6.06% | C− |
| Spirit Airlinesthin sample | 269 | 67.8% | 66 min | 10.78% | C− |
| SkyWest Airlinesthin sample | 258 | 71.7% | 169 min | 3.49% | C− |
| Southwest Airlinesthin sample | 256 | 73.4% | 45 min | 2.34% | C |
| United Airlinesthin sample | 154 | 80.5% | 98 min | 0.00% | B+ |
PSA Airlines cancels 3.7% 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 March
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CLT to MCO · Orlando | 424 | 75.6% | 83 min | 4.01% | B− |
| CLT to ORD · Chicagothin sample | 364 | 66.1% | 96 min | 4.40% | C− |
| CLT to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 359 | 74.1% | 80 min | 1.95% | C |
| CLT to ATL · Atlantathin sample | 357 | 81.7% | 90 min | 2.24% | B |
| CLT to BOS · Bostonthin sample | 327 | 78.9% | 82 min | 1.53% | B |
| CLT to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worththin sample | 326 | 84.0% | 63 min | 2.15% | B |
| CLT to LGA · New Yorkthin sample | 325 | 66.7% | 77 min | 5.85% | C− |
| CLT to FLL · Fort Lauderdalethin sample | 322 | 68.0% | 64 min | 5.90% | C− |
| CLT to MIA · Miamithin sample | 321 | 83.8% | 135 min | 3.43% | B− |
| CLT to BNA · Nashvillethin sample | 314 | 72.2% | 87 min | 2.55% | C |
| CLT to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 300 | 72.7% | 76 min | 2.33% | C |
| CLT to DTW · Detroitthin sample | 296 | 81.7% | 86 min | 2.03% | B |
| CLT to TPA · Tampathin sample | 285 | 78.1% | 66 min | 2.46% | B |
| CLT to PHX · Phoenixthin sample | 279 | 86.2% | 70 min | 0.72% | A+ |
| CLT to RDU · Raleighthin sample | 273 | 75.5% | 65 min | 1.47% | B |
| CLT to DEN · Denverthin sample | 233 | 83.9% | 89 min | 1.29% | B |
| CLT to BWI · Baltimorethin sample | 232 | 71.9% | 47 min | 1.72% | C |
| CLT to IAH · Houstonthin sample | 227 | 82.6% | 80 min | 3.08% | B− |
| CLT to DCA · Washingtonthin sample | 211 | 65.0% | 62 min | 1.90% | C |
| CLT to RIC · Richmondthin sample | 211 | 74.9% | 54 min | 1.42% | C |
| CLT to ORF · Norfolkthin sample | 209 | 75.0% | 55 min | 0.48% | B+ |
| CLT to MSP · Minneapolisthin sample | 207 | 81.4% | 78 min | 3.86% | B− |
| CLT to CHS · Charlestonthin sample | 203 | 71.5% | 72 min | 1.48% | C |
| CLT to MYR · Myrtle Beachthin sample | 185 | 69.6% | 63 min | 1.62% | C |
| CLT to CVG · Cincinnatithin sample | 180 | 73.6% | 64 min | 3.33% | C− |
Delay causes
What held CLT up in March
Late-arriving aircraft accounts for 49% of the 276,000 delay minutes carriers reported here, and the remaining four split what is left.
- 49%Late-arriving aircraft
- 30%Carrier
- 15%National Airspace System
- 6%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. Across 276,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 8 to one. The split is drawn from 276,258 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations sit at 2.38% against a national 2.90%, which is ordinary. Diversions add another 0.29%.
9.9% of arrivals land a full hour or more behind schedule, against 9.5% 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 March
For a March trip through CLT: expect 75.7% on time and 2.38% cancelled, going by March 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 September84.0%
- CLT in October81.2%
- CLT in November81.1%
- CLT in December73.3%
- CLT in January80.7%
- CLT in February78.7%
- 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.