When to fly
When should I fly from ATL?
Pick an airport and a day of the week. FlyerIntel shows how often flights that were scheduled to leave in each hour of that day arrived on time, with the number of flights behind every figure, July 2023 – July 2026. It says which hour did best only when the data can tell the hours apart.
Fridays at ATL
On Fridays at ATL, flights scheduled to leave 6–7 AM arrived on time most often (88.7%, 3,097 flights). Those leaving 8–9 PM did so least often (66.4%, 8,394 flights).
Departures before noon: 85.5% on time. From 5 PM on: 68.7%. Earlier departures did better.
Fridays as a whole: 76.7% on time, against 79.1% on the other six days, a clearly worse day.
| Departs | On time | Bar | Cancelled | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5–6 AM | 87.8% | 2.5% | 960 | |
| 6–7 AMBest hour | 88.7% | 1.3% | 3,097 | |
| 7–8 AM | 86.6% | 1.6% | 7,019 | |
| 8–9 AM | 88.0% | 1.4% | 11,772 | |
| 9–10 AM | 84.6% | 1.4% | 10,909 | |
| 10–11 AM | 83.5% | 1.4% | 9,043 | |
| 11 AM–12 PM | 83.3% | 1.4% | 9,712 | |
| 12–1 PM | 81.8% | 1.2% | 8,040 | |
| 1–2 PM | 79.6% | 1.2% | 7,424 | |
| 2–3 PM | 77.3% | 1.5% | 7,536 | |
| 3–4 PM | 73.9% | 1.7% | 10,635 | |
| 4–5 PM | 71.4% | 1.9% | 9,225 | |
| 5–6 PM | 69.1% | 1.6% | 7,956 | |
| 6–7 PM | 67.1% | 2.5% | 6,846 | |
| 7–8 PM | 67.8% | 2.3% | 9,800 | |
| 8–9 PMWeakest hour | 66.4% | 2.5% | 8,394 | |
| 9–10 PM | 69.4% | 2.6% | 9,789 | |
| 10–11 PM | 71.3% | 2.9% | 10,932 | |
| 11 PM–12 AM | 68.6% | 3.9% | 2,207 |
6 Friday flights in earlier or later hours are too few to score and are left out.
More on ATL: the airport profile, plan a trip from ATL.
How this is worked out
- What is counted. Flights scheduled to depart from the airport in each local hour of the chosen weekday. “On time” means the flight arrived less than 15 minutes after its scheduled time (early counts), as a share of flights that were not cancelled or diverted. Cancelled is a share of all scheduled flights. The same definition as the methodology page.
- Where it comes from. Records the US Department of Transportation publishes, summed in advance by airport, weekday and hour for July 2023 – July 2026. Nothing is estimated.
- When a figure is withheld. An hour with fewer than 120 flights prints no rate. An hour with fewer than 500 can be shown but is never named best or worst. A best hour is named only when it beats the weakest named hour by far more than chance would produce across a day’s hours; otherwise the page says the hours cannot be told apart.
- What it is not. It is history, not a forecast, and it describes the airport’s departures as a whole, not one airline or route. Weather and disruptions that hit particular days are inside the averages. For your own flight, check with your airline.
For one route and your own time, use the trip planner. For a whole holiday, see holiday travel. Every result has its own link, so you can cite or share the exact view.