Guide
Cleveland, Columbus or Cincinnati: Ohio's airports compared
Columbus ran 80.4% on time over September 2025 to August 2026, Cleveland 79.4% and Cincinnati 79.2%. All three lose the most time on the same two routes.
The worst regular flight out of Columbus over September 2025 to August 2026 was the United departure to Chicago O'Hare a little after 6pm. The worst out of Cincinnati was the United departure to O'Hare a little after 6pm. Cleveland's was, again, the United evening departure to O'Hare. Ohio's three big airports are dominated by different airlines, serve different cities and sit in different weather, and their weak points are almost identical: the evening flights to Chicago, and anything bound for Washington National.
On the headline, the three are close. Columbus (CMH) ran 80.4% on time, rank 16 of the 60 airports on this site. Cleveland (CLE) ran 79.4%, rank 22, and Cincinnati (CVG), which sits across the river in Kentucky, 79.2%, rank 24. All three beat the national 77.3%. Cancellations separate them more: 1.98% at Cincinnati, 2.13% at Columbus and 2.40% at Cleveland, against 1.89% nationally. As everywhere on this site, the figures are for departures, scored on arrival.
Three airports, three different airlines in charge
None of the three is a hub any more. Cleveland lost United's hub in 2014, Delta cut Cincinnati back from a hub over the late 2000s, and what is left in each case is a large outstation for the former hub carrier.
CLE average 79.4%
60.0%90.0%
Departures from CLE. The dashed line is the airport average. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
At Cleveland, United at CLE is still the largest carrier and one of the most punctual there, with Delta the only big airline ahead of it. Frontier, Southwest and Republic follow. The drag is PSA, American's regional, which cancelled more than any other airline at the airport; it flies almost all of the Washington National trips.
Columbus is the airport where a regional airline is the biggest operator. Republic at Columbus, flying for American, Delta and United, runs more departures than anyone, with Southwest at Columbus a close second. Republic's Columbus operation ran above the airport average, a better result than its national record, but it also cancelled more than Southwest did, largely on the New York and Washington runs.
CVG average 79.2%
55.0%90.0%
Departures from CVG. The dashed line is the airport average. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
Cincinnati is still Delta's airport, and Delta ran well above the airport average there. It also has the strongest low-cost presence of the three: Allegiant and Frontier together fly almost a fifth of departures, and Allegiant, which cancelled 0.68% of its flights nationally, has one of the lowest cancellation rates of any US airline. SkyWest, flying for United and Delta, was the weakest carrier at CVG by a distance.
The air traffic system is the common problem
All three airports carry an unusually large share of delay minutes coded to the National Aviation System: 30% at Columbus, 28% at Cleveland and 27% at Cincinnati, against 21% nationally. Columbus ranks among the highest of the 60 airports on this measure.
The delays are not made in Ohio.
They come from where the flights are going: O'Hare, LaGuardia, Newark, Philadelphia and Reagan National, all of which run ground delay programmes that hold aircraft at their origin. The air traffic control guide ranks every airport on this measure.
Share of all delay minutes. Darker is a bigger share. Air traffic is the National Airspace System category; weather is extreme weather only.
Rows ranked by the air traffic share. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
Same routes, same failures
US average 77.3%
55.0%90.0%
The line under each bar is the route's cancellation rate. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
O'Hare is the busiest destination from all three and a poor performer from each: Cleveland to O'Hare ran 74.5%, Columbus to O'Hare 75.4% and Cincinnati to O'Hare 70.8%. The evening departures are the trap: United 1182 from Columbus, United 1813 from Cincinnati and United 1673 from Cleveland all leave around 6pm, into the hours when O'Hare's arrival programmes are at their worst, and each was on time about half the time or less. The Columbus flight was one of the least punctual flight numbers anywhere in the country.
Washington National is worse. Cleveland to Reagan National ran 63.8% and cancelled 8.10% of its flights, one of the highest cancellation rates of any route on this site, nearly all of it on PSA's Cleveland to Washington flights. With 8.10% of flights never leaving, I would not book that route for a meeting I could not miss. Cincinnati to Reagan National ran 63.1%, rank 2,938 of 2,978, and Columbus to Reagan National 69.2%.
Atlanta is the reliable escape from all three. Cleveland to Atlanta ran 84.6%, Columbus to Atlanta 84.8% and Cincinnati to Atlanta 85.4%, and Delta flies most of each. Cleveland also has one of the most punctual routes in the country: Cleveland to Houston ran 90.8%, rank 51 of 2,978, on United's link to its Houston hub.
Morning everywhere, and December
Cleveland (CLE)79.4% overall
Columbus (CMH)80.4% overall
Cincinnati (CVG)79.2% overall
All panels share one scale. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
All three follow the national curve closely. Before 8am, Columbus ran 89.9%, Cleveland 88.7% and Cincinnati 87.1%. Between 5pm and 8pm those fell to 69.7%, 66.9% and 68.8%. Southwest at Columbus has the sharpest version, with the best dawn figure of the big carriers at the three airports and a weak evening. At Cleveland, United's 5pm to 8pm departures are its weakest by far, which is the O'Hare flight again.
December 2025 was the worst month at all three: Cleveland in December ran 71.2%, Columbus 70.7% and Cincinnati 67.7%. January 2026 then brought the year's worst cancellation rates, above 5% at each airport, consistent with winter storms that stop flying for a day or two at a time. Cleveland, on Lake Erie, also gets lake-effect snow the other two do not, and its December cancellation rate was the highest of the three, consistent with that. September 2025 was the best month everywhere: 85.8% at Cleveland, 85.2% at Columbus, 85.4% at Cincinnati. Summer was mild by national standards: Columbus ran 80.9% in July 2026 against 71.7% nationally. The winter storm guide covers the season in detail.
Weekdays follow the national pattern. Wednesday was the best day at all three; Sunday or Monday the worst.
Which Ohio airport I would pick
If you live between two of them, Columbus is the safest default, and it is where I would start. It has the best on-time rate of the three and the lowest hour-late share, 7.3% against 8.2% at Cleveland and 8.2% at Cincinnati.
For the lowest cancellation risk, Cincinnati. Its cancellation rate is the lowest of the three, and Delta's schedule there makes a same-day rebooking through Atlanta realistic.
Connect through Atlanta or Charlotte, not O'Hare. From every Ohio airport the Atlanta route beats the O'Hare route by a wide margin. If Chicago is unavoidable, fly the first departure, not the 6pm.
For Washington, fly to Dulles or Baltimore. The Reagan National routes from all three airports are among the least reliable short-haul flights in the country. The alternatives are not: Cleveland to Dulles ran 87.1% and Columbus to Baltimore 87.2%. The DC airports guide explains the other end.
In December and January, book the morning and keep a spare day. The worst months here are winter months: December brought the delays and January the cancellations. The connection risk tool will show how much buffer a connection needs.
Compare the fields: Columbus (CMH) · Cleveland (CLE) · Cincinnati (CVG) · Pittsburgh (PIT) · Indianapolis (IND) · Detroit (DTW)