Route profile
FLL→ATL
Flight reliability, delays and best times to fly from Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta, 581 miles.
Right now
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Aviation weather is not currently a factor.
Route reliability
July 2023 – July 2026
Better than 13% of comparable major US routes (4,598 compared)
Calculated from 22,812 flights. How this is calculated
FLL → ATL arrives on time 71.4% of the time; the return trip, ATL → FLL, arrives on time 72.0% of the time.
FLL → ATL spends 28.8 minutes on the ground on a 581-mile trip: 17.5 minutes from pushback to wheels-up at FLL and 11.3 minutes from touchdown to gate at ATL.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics · Data covering July 2023 – July 2026
What stands out
The airline matters unusually much on this route, a wider carrier-to-carrier gap than 98% of 2,692 comparable routes.
Southwest Airlines arrived on time 78.6% of the time, against 54.7% for JetBlue, flying the exact same route.
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · Ranked against every other route with the same kind of figure and at least 2,692 in the comparison.
Why FLL → ATL flights are cancelled
July 2023 – July 2026
FLL → ATL cancelled 359 of 22,812 scheduled flights — about 1 in every 64. The reason filed most often was the airline, 46.2% of the cancellations coded on this route — about 1 in every 137 scheduled flights.
Share of cancellations
Of 359 cancelled departures carrying a reason code.
What each reason means
Crew, maintenance, aircraft cleaning, baggage or fueling: what BTS counts as within the carrier’s own control.
166 cancellations, 46.2% of the total.
Conditions the carrier judged severe enough to stop the flight: a blizzard, a hurricane, a line of thunderstorms.
164 cancellations, 45.7% of the total.
Airport capacity, air traffic control flow programs, heavy traffic and ordinary bad weather. A system decision, not the airline’s.
29 cancellations, 8.1% of the total.
A terminal evacuation, a security breach, screening equipment failure, or screening queues over 29 minutes.
0 cancellations, 0.0% of the total.
Reason codes are the operating airline’s own filing with US DOT, not an independent finding of fault. Ordinary bad weather is filed under air traffic, so weather’s full share is larger than its bar.
359 coded cancellations were recorded on FLL → ATL; the section appears from 50.
When it goes wrong
July 2023 – July 2026
66 min late
against a median of 3 min early
FLL → ATL has an average that understates its risk: a typical arrival is 3 min early, but the worst tenth are 69 minutes worse than that. If the trip has something unmissable at the end of it, the median is the wrong number to plan against.
Percentiles over 22,812 operations; cancelled and diverted flights are counted separately.
Will your connection be tight enough?
Layovers at ATL after arriving from FLL.
| Connection time | Chance of missing | Reads as |
|---|---|---|
| 30 min | 44% | Likely to miss |
| 45 min | 28% | High risk |
| 60 min | 19% | High risk |
| 90 min | 11% | Some risk |
| 120 min | 6.6% | Some risk |
This is one leg of a connection. Gate changes and the next flight's own schedule matter too. And a connection can fail before delay is even the question — this route cancels 1.57% of the time and diverts 0.21% of the time, which a late arrival never shows up in.
Chance of missing is the share of 22,405 arrivals on this route that landed later than the connection time less 30 minutes to reach the next gate.
The worst tenth of arrivals on this route land at least 66 minutes late (90th-percentile gate arrival delay), over 22,812 operations.
Any other layover length: connection checker.
Best time to fly
FLL → ATL flights departing 5–9 AM arrived on time 87.7% of the time, against 55.1% for 6–9 PM departures, a gap of 32.6 percentage points.
By day and hour
On-time arrival rate for each weekday and scheduled departure hour, in local time at the departure airport (FLL).
Hour of departure matters more than day of the week: hourly averages sit a typical 13.4 points from the route-wide rate, weekday averages 4.8 points.
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | |||||||
| 6 AM–7 AM | |||||||
| 7 AM–8 AM | |||||||
| 8 AM–9 AM | |||||||
| 9 AM–10 AM | |||||||
| 10 AM–11 AM | |||||||
| 11 AM–12 PM | |||||||
| 12 PM–1 PM | |||||||
| 1 PM–2 PM | |||||||
| 2 PM–3 PM | |||||||
| 3 PM–4 PM | |||||||
| 4 PM–5 PM | |||||||
| 5 PM–6 PM | |||||||
| 6 PM–7 PM | |||||||
| 7 PM–8 PM | |||||||
| 8 PM–9 PM | |||||||
| 9 PM–10 PM |
On-time rate, % · stronger color, fewer on time
- 40–49
- 50–59
- 60–69
- 70–79
- 80–89
- 90–99
- Fewer than 120 flights, not scored
Source: FlyerIntel analysis of US DOT BTS data · July 2023 – July 2026 · On time is arrival within 15 minutes of schedule. Cells round to whole percentages; the table shows one decimal.
No slot is named best or worst: too few reach 500 flights. Departures after 10 PM (523 flights) are not drawn: no slot in those hours has enough flights to score.
View as tableHide table
| Hour | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 AM–6 AM | 88.7% on time245 flights | 90.8% on time188 flights | 94.1% on time186 flights | 92.9% on time242 flights | 94.4% on time250 flights | 91.9% on time204 flights | 91.5% on time236 flights |
| 6 AM–7 AM | 87.6% on time255 flights | 92.6% on time274 flights | 91.8% on time287 flights | 90.8% on time249 flights | 90.7% on time253 flights | 87.3% on time256 flights | 88.4% on time245 flights |
| 7 AM–8 AM | 83.6% on time190 flights | 86.8% on time198 flights | 88.2% on time187 flights | 86.6% on time194 flights | 82.2% on time187 flights | 80.4% on time201 flights | 78.1% on time196 flights |
| 8 AM–9 AM | 77.5% on time155 flights | 78.4% on time136 flights | 87.1% on time141 flights | 85.0% on time140 flights | 83.4% on time159 flights | 83.8% on time155 flights | 81.7% on time150 flights |
| 9 AM–10 AM | 85.2% on time198 flights | 88.1% on time177 flights | 86.0% on time187 flights | 86.1% on time167 flights | 85.3% on time189 flights | 86.3% on time207 flights | 79.3% on time177 flights |
| 10 AM–11 AM | 82.6% on time150 flights | 83.4% on time163 flights | 87.7% on time154 flights | 87.0% on time154 flights | 83.2% on time149 flights | 81.8% on time172 flights | 82.4% on time152 flights |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 86.7% on time171 flights | 78.9% on time180 flights | 85.0% on time173 flights | 78.4% on time173 flights | 77.8% on time169 flights | 73.8% on time176 flights | 74.7% on time160 flights |
| 12 PM–1 PM | 65.8% on time193 flights | 77.5% on time179 flights | 80.6% on time178 flights | 77.3% on time186 flights | 71.7% on time189 flights | 72.2% on time170 flights | 58.8% on time194 flights |
| 1 PM–2 PM | 70.6% on time200 flights | 73.3% on time196 flights | 79.9% on time196 flights | 72.2% on time196 flights | 71.4% on time199 flights | 63.0% on time215 flights | 64.1% on time204 flights |
| 2 PM–3 PM | 100 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score | 92 flights, too few to score | 109 flights, too few to score | 100 flights, too few to score | 116 flights, too few to score | 114 flights, too few to score |
| 3 PM–4 PM | 72.6% on time202 flights | 76.2% on time192 flights | 79.9% on time186 flights | 70.2% on time209 flights | 68.9% on time195 flights | 69.5% on time208 flights | 55.2% on time225 flights |
| 4 PM–5 PM | 62.7% on time135 flights | 67.4% on time145 flights | 69.2% on time145 flights | 53.0% on time173 flights | 52.6% on time140 flights | 60.9% on time155 flights | 45.1% on time176 flights |
| 5 PM–6 PM | 56.6% on time162 flights | 73.4% on time175 flights | 71.4% on time175 flights | 59.4% on time159 flights | 60.5% on time163 flights | 61.8% on time175 flights | 47.4% on time180 flights |
| 6 PM–7 PM | 49.8% on time324 flights | 65.1% on time299 flights | 60.9% on time294 flights | 53.3% on time325 flights | 49.4% on time320 flights | 51.0% on time295 flights | 44.6% on time333 flights |
| 7 PM–8 PM | 54.0% on time256 flights | 66.8% on time197 flights | 70.1% on time201 flights | 57.8% on time262 flights | 56.1% on time268 flights | 53.8% on time176 flights | 45.1% on time265 flights |
| 8 PM–9 PM | 55.8% on time220 flights | 115 flights, too few to score | 110 flights, too few to score | 63.1% on time219 flights | 61.7% on time213 flights | 46.1% on time121 flights | 43.3% on time206 flights |
| 9 PM–10 PM | 55.1% on time131 flights | 109 flights, too few to score | 104 flights, too few to score | 112 flights, too few to score | 62.7% on time130 flights | 116 flights, too few to score | 118 flights, too few to score |
By departure window
By departure hour
- 12 AM to 4 AM: too few flights to score
- 5 AM: 92.0% on time from 1,551 flights
- 6 AM: 90.0% on time from 1,819 flights
- 7 AM: 83.7% on time from 1,353 flights
- 8 AM: 82.4% on time from 1,036 flights
- 9 AM: 85.2% on time from 1,302 flights
- 10 AM: 84.0% on time from 1,094 flights
- 11 AM: 79.4% on time from 1,202 flights
- 12 PM: 71.9% on time from 1,289 flights
- 1 PM: 70.5% on time from 1,406 flights
- 2 PM: 61.1% on time from 723 flights
- 3 PM: 70.0% on time from 1,417 flights
- 4 PM: 58.2% on time from 1,069 flights
- 5 PM: 61.6% on time from 1,189 flights
- 6 PM: 53.2% on time from 2,190 flights
- 7 PM: 57.0% on time from 1,625 flights
- 8 PM: 56.0% on time from 1,204 flights
- 9 PM: 59.7% on time from 820 flights
- 10 PM: 54.8% on time from 508 flights
- 11 PM: too few flights to score
Why FLL → ATL runs late
July 2023 – July 2026
the inbound aircraft was late, so this flight started late
crew, maintenance, boarding and fueling, all within the carrier’s control
airspace and airport capacity, including weather-driven flow control
weather severe enough to stop this flight specifically
screening or terminal security incidents
Share of the delay minutes US DOT attributed to each cause for FLL → ATL. Only delays of 15 minutes or more are attributed.
Late-arriving aircraft is the largest cause on FLL → ATL, at 41.2%: flights here mostly leave late because the plane came in late, and the day shows it: 5–9 AM departures arrived on time 87.7% of the time and 6–9 PM departures 55.1%.
How this route holds up in bad weather
July 2023 – July 2026
The harder-hit end is ATL, where the flight lands. Its figure counts departures from ATL, so it says more about how that airport copes than about this route. Bad weather cancels 3.3 times the normal rate at ATL against 2.1 times at FLL. Cancelled in bad weather against normal hours: FLL 3.3% against 1.6%, ATL 3.4% against 1.0%. Flights that did leave FLL in bad weather arrived on time 54.6% of the time, against 73.3% in normal hours.
Bad weather and normal hours at the airports
Scheduled departures, July 2023 – July 2026| Departures from | FLL | ATL |
|---|---|---|
| Cancelled in bad weather | 3.3% | 3.4% |
| Cancelled in normal hours | 1.6% | 1.0% |
| Arrived on time, bad weather | 54.6% | 66.5% |
| Arrived on time, normal hours | 73.3% | 80.2% |
| Departures in bad weather | 13,418 | 105,854 |
Of the carriers on this route, Delta Air Lines (1.6% cancelled against 3.7% for the other carriers at FLL) cancelled the fewest departures from FLL in bad weather and Spirit Airlines (5.3% cancelled against 2.7% for the other carriers at FLL) the most. One more carrier flies this route but has too few bad-weather departures from FLL to compare.
This route’s airlines in bad weather at FLL
All departures from FLL| Airline | Bad-weather departures | Cancelled | Other carriers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 2,006 | 1.6%below the others | 3.7% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,998 | 2.1%below the others | 3.6% |
| JetBlue | 2,832 | 3.2%about level | 3.1% |
| Spirit Airlines | 3,199 | 5.3%above the others | 2.7% |
These are airport figures, not route figures: every scheduled departure from FLL and ATL, to any destination, in hours the weather report called bad. The airline rows count each carrier’s departures from FLL on every route.
Weather source and limits. In full: FLL (airlines), ATL, What Weather Costs Each Airport, Who Cancels More When the Weather Turns, Airports That Change Places When Weather Turns.
Airlines on this route
Carriers with at least 200 flights, by the airline that operated each one.
| Carrier | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Severe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 13,005 | 77.7% | 1.21% | -6 min | 8.7% |
| Spirit Airlines | 4,751 | 59.5% | 1.92% | 6 min | 15.6% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,953 | 61.4% | 3.48% | 4 min | 17.6% |
| Southwest Airlines | 1,892 | 78.6% | 0.79% | -4 min | 5.9% |
| JetBlue | 1,211 | 54.7% | 2.23% | 10 min | 18.8% |
Delta Air Lines flew 57.0% of the 22,812 flights listed. Frontier Airlines cancelled 3.48% of its flights here against 0.79% for Southwest Airlines.
Southwest Airlines arrived on time 23.9 percentage points more often than JetBlue on this route.
Other ways to fly Miami to Atlanta
Airport pairs in the same two city markets, as the DOT defines them.
| Route | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Median delay | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLL→ATL this route Fort Lauderdale to Atlanta | 22,812 | 71.4% | 1.57% | -3 min | 49 |
| MIA→ATL Miami to Atlanta | 20,121 | 71.9% | 1.31% | -3 min | 50 |
Flying to ATL from the Miami area? Compare FLL, MIA for ATL, with the same test for what counts as a real difference.
Flights on this route
Flight numbers with at least 600 operations here and still on the schedule.
DL1168 (5:30 AM) arrived on time 94.5% of the time, 25.2 points more often than F92173 (6:00 AM) at 69.3%.
Weekly and seasonal patterns
By day of week
Wednesday is historically the most reliable day and Sunday the least, a gap of 15.5 percentage points.
By month
- Jan: 71.8%
- Feb: 70.1%
- Mar: 64.9%
- Apr: 75.9%
- May: 70.9%
- Jun: 71.4%
- Jul: 62.0%
- Aug: 67.5%
- Sep: 76.3%
- Oct: 79.7%
- Nov: 79.1%
- Dec: 71.5%
July is historically the weakest month and October the strongest, a spread of 17.7 percentage points.
Reliability over time
July 2023 – July 2026
- July 2023: 61.4% from 681 flights
- August 2023: 63.3% from 655 flights
- September 2023: 75.4% from 632 flights
- October 2023: 77.8% from 663 flights
- November 2023: 75.3% from 665 flights
- December 2023: 73.6% from 730 flights
- January 2024: 72.5% from 731 flights
- February 2024: 72.9% from 679 flights
- March 2024: 64.4% from 733 flights
- April 2024: 75.4% from 707 flights
- May 2024: 68.1% from 704 flights
- June 2024: 71.1% from 632 flights
- July 2024: 58.3% from 636 flights
- August 2024: 66.3% from 587 flights
- September 2024: 71.2% from 540 flights
- October 2024: 80.9% from 571 flights
- November 2024: 82.8% from 576 flights
- December 2024: 72.8% from 606 flights
- January 2025: 72.2% from 581 flights
- February 2025: 75.3% from 530 flights
- March 2025: 73.2% from 599 flights
- April 2025: 80.3% from 532 flights
- May 2025: 71.0% from 532 flights
- June 2025: 65.5% from 523 flights
- July 2025: 66.7% from 527 flights
- August 2025: 74.6% from 495 flights
- September 2025: 83.4% from 453 flights
- October 2025: 81.0% from 486 flights
- November 2025: 79.7% from 605 flights
- December 2025: 68.1% from 686 flights
- January 2026: 70.6% from 675 flights
- February 2026: 62.9% from 660 flights
- March 2026: 58.7% from 782 flights
- April 2026: 73.2% from 713 flights
- May 2026: 74.3% from 563 flights
- June 2026: 77.4% from 540 flights
- July 2026: 62.3% from 602 flights
Over the most recent 12 months (2025-08 to 2026-07), on-time arrivals averaged 71.3% against 73.2% in the 12 months before — declining by 1.9 percentage points.
Data and methodology
Calculated by FlyerIntel from 22,812 FLL → ATL flight records from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, covering July 2023 – July 2026. Late means 15 or more minutes past scheduled arrival; cancelled and diverted flights are left out of on-time rates.
Full methodology · Data sources · Report a problem
Related research: How Long a Layover Needs to Be · Two Airlines on One Route · Best Time of Day to Fly From Major US Airports
Analysis last recomputed