Transatlantic route record · UK CAA departure punctuality
EDI→ATL
Edinburgh to Atlanta
- Flights
- 445 both ways
- Carriers
- 1
- Distance
- 4,000 mi
- Period
- September 2025 to August 2026
Over the twelve months to August 2026, 80.0% of departures from Edinburgh to Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International left within 15 minutes of their planned time, from 198 flights the UK Civil Aviation Authority matched to a schedule. That is 4 points ahead of the 76.4% recorded across every UK departure to the United States, and it ranks 8th of the 50 UK-to-US routes with a usable record. About one flight in five left at least 15 minutes behind schedule, and 1 of 199 scheduled departures, 0.5%, did not operate at all.
The route's 80.0% is an improvement of 7 points on the same months a year earlier, when 72.6% left on time. Across every departure from the 25 UK airports the CAA reports, to any destination, 72.4% left within 15 minutes in the same period; transatlantic departures run slightly better than the UK average, partly because wide-body long-haul flights are scheduled with more slack than short-haul rotations. A single carrier accounts for almost every departure, so the route figure and the airline figure are the same number.
Key figures
Left on time
80.0%
Within 15 minutes of schedule, of 198 departures (CAA)
Avg delay
16 min
Across all departures, early counted as zero
Cancelled
0.50%
All UK-to-US departures: 2.16%
3+ hours late
2.00%
The UK261 compensation threshold
6.5% of departures left more than an hour late, and 2.00% left three hours or more behind schedule, about one flight in 50. Three hours at arrival is the threshold at which UK261 compensation becomes payable, £520 a passenger on a sector of this length; the CAA measures the departure, so a flight in that band left the gate three hours late, which is not quite the same test but rarely ends differently after seven hours over the Atlantic. The average delay across every matched departure, early ones counted as zero, was 16.2 minutes, against 14.2 for all UK-to-US departures.
Carrier by carrier
Which airline leaves EDI for ATL on time
Delta Air Lines is the only carrier the DOT report shows on EDI to ATL, with 445 flights and an average of 193 passengers aboard each. A single-carrier route gives a delayed passenger no same-day alternative on the same ticket, which is worth knowing before booking a tight onward connection.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Linesthin sample | 199 | 80.0% | 16 min | 0.50% | B+ |
Flights are scheduled departures in the CAA file, operated plus cancelled; on time is within 15 minutes of the planned off-block time. The DOT count below includes the return direction and may differ.
How late is late
How delays on EDI to ATL are distributed
- Early15+ min early4.0%
- On timeup to 15 min late75.9%
- 16–30 min6.5%
- 31–60 min6.5%
- 1–2 hours3.0%
- 2–3 hours1.5%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold1.5%
- Over 6 hours0.5%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
Across the year
When EDI to ATL runs late
The DOT's international report puts 89 flights on the pair in July 2025, the busiest month of the window, and 0 in March 2026, the thinnest. A summer-to-winter swing of that size means the winter schedule is a different operation: fewer frequencies, so a cancellation leaves a longer wait for the next seat.
Flights per month, both directions
- July 202589
- August 202587
- September 202586
- October 202542
- November 20250
- December 20250
- January 20260
- February 20260
- March 20260
- April 202623
- May 202658
- June 202660
The DOT's international report counts flights in both directions together: 445 between EDI and ATL from July 2025 to June 2026, about four departures a week in each direction, carrying 85,682 passengers. That makes it the 5th busiest of 8 US routes from Edinburgh and the 15th busiest of 19 European routes into ATL.
The return leg
ATL to EDI: arrivals back into Edinburgh
Coming the other way, 73.0% of arrivals from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International into Edinburgh reached the gate within 15 minutes of schedule, across 195 flights. 29% arrived more than 15 minutes early, which is normal for an eastbound crossing with the jet stream behind it and a schedule padded for the days it is not. 0.50% of those arrivals were three hours or more late, the figure that decides a compensation claim on the return trip, and 2.0% were cancelled.
Arrived on time
73.0%
Within 15 minutes, of 195 arrivals
Early
28.7%
More than 15 minutes ahead of schedule
Cancelled
2.01%
3+ hours late
0.50%
Arrival delay, the compensation test
- Early15+ min early28.7%
- On timeup to 15 min late44.3%
- 16–30 min12.0%
- 31–60 min7.5%
- 1–2 hours4.5%
- 2–3 hours0.5%
- 3–6 hourscompensation threshold0.5%
- Over 6 hours0.0%
Scale runs 0% to 100%.
The departure airport
How Edinburgh is running
EUROCONTROL's figures for Edinburgh as a whole, every airline and every destination: 71.4% of departures and 74.0% of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule from 1 January to 21 October 2026, with 97.0% of scheduled flights operated. The last seven days ran at 73.0% for departures, 2 points better than the year so far. Air traffic flow management delay attributed to the airport averaged 0.0 minutes per arriving flight this year, 0.0 over the last week.
| Window | Departures on time | Arrivals on time | Schedules operated | ATFM delay / arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yesterday (21 October 2026) | 81.7% | 82.1% | 96.5% | 0.0 min |
| Last 7 days | 73.0% | 77.0% | 96.8% | 0.0 min |
| Year to date | 71.4% | 74.0% | 97.0% | 0.0 min |
Every US route from Edinburgh, and its full punctuality record
The arrival airport
Landing at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International is scored on this site from the DOT's domestic data: 77.9% of its 315,727 domestic departures arrived on time over the last twelve months, with delayed flights running about an hour late, and 1.83% were cancelled. Those are domestic flights, not this route, but an arriving transatlantic flight shares the same runways, the same weather and the same ground delay programmes, so a bad day at ATL reaches a flight from EDI just as surely. The airport's own page has the hour-by-hour and month-by-month detail, and its live FAA status appears above when the FAA has something to say.
Domestic on time
77.9%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late (DOT)
Avg delay
66 min
Delayed domestic flights only
Cancelled
1.83%
Domestic departures
315,727
Last twelve months
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) delay statistics, hour by hour and month by month
Your rights
UK261 on EDI to ATL
Every flight that departs Edinburgh falls under UK261, the retained version of the EU regulation, whichever airline flies it and wherever it lands. If it arrives at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International three hours or more late, or is cancelled with under 14 days' notice, and the cause was within the airline's control, each passenger is owed £520 (£260 if the airline got you there under four hours late), on top of rebooking and care. Weather, air traffic control restrictions and strikes outside the airline are the usual exemptions. The return flight from ATL is covered only when the carrier is UK or EU based. The sector is about 4,000 miles, 6,436 km, which puts it in the top distance band.
Delayed three hours or more? Check a claim with Compensair →
What to do with this
Booking EDI to ATL
Booked blind, EDI to ATL is a B+ route by the departure record, and there is no carrier choice to make. Leave at least two hours for any onward connection at ATL: 7% of departures were an hour or more late, and immigration comes before the connecting flight.
Common questions
EDI to ATL questions
How often are EDI to ATL flights delayed?
About one flight in five leaves Edinburgh at least 15 minutes behind schedule, 20.0% of the 198 departures the CAA matched between September 2025 and August 2026. 6.5% left more than an hour late and 2.00% three hours or more. A further 0.5% of scheduled departures were cancelled.
Which airlines fly EDI to ATL?
Delta Air Lines. Delta Air Lines accounted for 100% of the 445 flights the DOT counted on the pair.
Can I claim compensation for a delayed EDI to ATL flight?
Yes, if the flight arrived three hours or more late or was cancelled at short notice for a reason within the airline's control: departures from Edinburgh are covered by UK261 whichever airline operates them. The fixed amount for a sector of this length is £520 a passenger, £260 if the airline got you there under four hours late. On this route 2.00% of departures left three hours or more late over the last twelve months. The return from ATL is covered only on a UK or EU carrier.
How punctual is the return leg, ATL to EDI?
73.0% of arrivals from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International reached the gate at Edinburgh within 15 minutes of schedule across 195 flights, and 29% arrived more than 15 minutes early, as eastbound crossings often do. 2.0% were cancelled.
Related
Where to go next
- Edinburgh (EDI): every US route
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) delay statistics
- EDI to JFK, New York (JFK)1,104 flights
- EDI to EWR, Newark (EWR)886 flights
- EDI to BOS, Boston (BOS)723 flights
- EDI to IAD, Washington (IAD)541 flights
- LHR to ATL, from London3,607 flights
- CDG to ATL, from Paris3,078 flights
- AMS to ATL, from Amsterdam2,870 flights
- FRA to ATL, from Frankfurt1,398 flights
- Every Europe-to-US route and airport
The departure record is the CAA's, measured at Edinburgh; the arrival record for the return leg is also measured at Edinburgh. Nothing here is measured at ATL, where the DOT keeps no record of international flights.
Sources: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, International Report (flights and passengers by carrier and airport pair), July 2025 to June 2026; UK Civil Aviation Authority punctuality statistics, September 2025 to August 2026; EUROCONTROL Aviation Intelligence Portal, airport punctuality and ATFM delay to 21 October 2026. Rebuilt 22 October 2026; the EUROCONTROL figures refresh with each weekly build, the others when their publisher releases a month. How these sources differ.