ON TIMEBOARD

DEN → ATL on time

Denver (Denver, CO) to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson (Atlanta, GA). Every scheduled flight, September 2025 to August 2026.

On time
77%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
0.9%
5,603 flights
Typical arrival
−6 min
median vs schedule
When late
+58 min
average delay
Flights / day
15
4 airlines

77% of flights from Denver to Atlanta arrived on time over the past 12 months. That is about the typical U.S. route. The 5 a.m. departures ran on time 94% of the time; the 7 p.m. ones 39%. Most reliable airline: Delta Air Lines (84%). 7% of flights arrived more than an hour late or not at all.

How late?

The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for DEN → ATL: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 59% of the time. About 1 in 17 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 112 three hours or more; 0.9% were cancelled outright.

Share of all 5,603 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.

By airline

AirlineFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrival1h+ lateAvg when lateOperated by
Delta Air Lines2,80784%1.2%−11 min4.0%+61 minDelta Air Lines
Southwest Airlines1,07262%0.8%+6 min9.4%+51 minSouthwest Airlines
United Airlines92377%0.3%−6 min6.8%+61 minUnited Airlines
Frontier Airlines80175%0.9%−5 min6.7%+62 minFrontier Airlines

Airline = the name on the ticket. Regional flights (e.g. "Delta Connection") count under the ticketing airline, and the operator is listed.

Best time of day to fly

On-time rate by scheduled departure hour (local time at DEN). Delays build through the day as late planes knock on, so early flights usually do best.

30%65%100%12 a.m. departures: 90% on time (346 flights)9012a1 a.m. departures: too few flights1a2 a.m. departures: too few flights2a3 a.m. departures: too few flights3a4 a.m. departures: too few flights4a5 a.m. departures: 94% on time (196 flights)945a6 a.m. departures: 89% on time (335 flights)896a7 a.m. departures: 92% on time (402 flights)927a8 a.m. departures: too few flights (45 flights)8a9 a.m. departures: 77% on time (273 flights)779a10 a.m. departures: 78% on time (934 flights)7810a11 a.m. departures: 74% on time (209 flights)7411anoon departures: 86% on time (227 flights)8612p1 p.m. departures: 78% on time (670 flights)781p2 p.m. departures: 74% on time (416 flights)742p3 p.m. departures: 72% on time (242 flights)723p4 p.m. departures: 75% on time (438 flights)754p5 p.m. departures: 67% on time (453 flights)675p6 p.m. departures: too few flights (74 flights)6p7 p.m. departures: 39% on time (130 flights)397p8 p.m. departures: too few flights (35 flights)8p9 p.m. departures: too few flights9p10 p.m. departures: too few flights10p11 p.m. departures: 61% on time (178 flights)6111p
DEN → ATL, share of flights arriving on time, by departure hour. Hours with under 100 flights are greyed out.
82%+ on time76–82%68–76%under 68%too few flights

By airline and hour

DepartsDelta Air LinesSouthwest AirlinesUnited AirlinesFrontier Airlines
12 a.m.91%——90%
5 a.m.95%———
6 a.m.92%——84%
7 a.m.92%———
9 a.m.81%———
10 a.m.81%75%81%—
11 a.m.77%———
noon86%———
1 p.m.79%—77%81%
2 p.m.83%55%——
3 p.m.83%———
4 p.m.79%———
5 p.m.——71%—
7 p.m.—39%——
11 p.m.———61%

Last flight of the day

On DEN → ATL, each airline's last flight of the day was cancelled 1.1% of the time, against 0.9% for its earlier flights (1.3× as often). It arrived 3+ hours late 2.0% of the time (earlier flights: 0.5%). It matters more than the numbers suggest. Miss an earlier flight and there's another one that evening; miss the last one and you're usually waiting until morning.

AirlineLast departureLast: cancelledLast: 3h+ lateEarlier: cancelledNext morning
Delta Air Lines4:35 p.m.1.6%1.9%1.1%first flight 12:56 a.m.
Frontier Airlines11:50 p.m.1.8%1.5%0.2%first flight 6:30 a.m.
United Airlines5:48 p.m.0.3%1.9%0.4%first flight 10:00 a.m.
Southwest Airlines7:05 p.m.0.8%2.5%0.9%first flight 10:45 a.m.

Last flight = the airline's last scheduled departure on this route that day, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Times are typical scheduled times over the latest three months.

If you need to be in ATL tonight, book an earlier flight so there's a backup if it's cancelled.

By month

Each calendar month pooled over 2023–2026. Best: November (85%). Worst: July (65%).

40%70%100%Jan: 76% on time (1,353 flights)76JanFeb: 81% on time (1,269 flights)81FebMar: 80% on time (1,416 flights)80MarApr: 77% on time (1,415 flights)77AprMay: 73% on time (1,512 flights)73MayJun: 72% on time (1,563 flights)72JunJul: 65% on time (1,610 flights)65JulAug: 74% on time (1,512 flights)74AugSep: 85% on time (1,446 flights)85SepOct: 84% on time (1,502 flights)84OctNov: 85% on time (1,427 flights)85NovDec: 81% on time (1,480 flights)81Dec

By day of week

DayFlightsOn timeCancelled
Monday84078%0.6%
Tuesday81381%0.5%
Wednesday78581%0.4%
Thursday79376%0.3%
Friday82776%1.1%
Saturday74877%2.3%
Sunday79774%1.5%

Why flights were late

Share of delay minutes on flights 15+ minutes late, as reported to BTS by the airlines.

Late inbound plane 40%Airline (crew, maintenance, ops) 39%Air traffic & airport (NAS) 18%Severe weather 3%

Cancellations: airline 28 · weather 18 · air traffic/airport 6

Month by month

50%75%100%Sep 2023Jan 2024Jan 2025Jan 2026Sep 2023: 85% on time, 0.2% cancelledOct 2023: 85% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2023: 86% on time, 0.0% cancelledDec 2023: 84% on time, 0.0% cancelledJan 2024: 76% on time, 2.3% cancelledFeb 2024: 80% on time, 0.0% cancelledMar 2024: 82% on time, 0.6% cancelledApr 2024: 79% on time, 0.0% cancelledMay 2024: 73% on time, 0.2% cancelledJun 2024: 78% on time, 0.2% cancelledJul 2024: 64% on time, 5.1% cancelledAug 2024: 79% on time, 0.6% cancelledSep 2024: 84% on time, 0.2% cancelledOct 2024: 83% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2024: 81% on time, 0.4% cancelledDec 2024: 86% on time, 0.0% cancelledJan 2025: 71% on time, 3.6% cancelledFeb 2025: 78% on time, 0.0% cancelledMar 2025: 82% on time, 0.0% cancelledApr 2025: 65% on time, 0.7% cancelledMay 2025: 71% on time, 0.4% cancelledJun 2025: 66% on time, 0.8% cancelledJul 2025: 69% on time, 0.8% cancelledAug 2025: 77% on time, 0.8% cancelledSep 2025: 85% on time, 0.0% cancelledOct 2025: 84% on time, 0.0% cancelledNov 2025: 89% on time, 1.6% cancelledDec 2025: 73% on time, 1.1% cancelledJan 2026: 81% on time, 1.9% cancelledFeb 2026: 85% on time, 0.2% cancelledMar 2026: 75% on time, 2.8% cancelledApr 2026: 88% on time, 0.2% cancelledMay 2026: 74% on time, 0.8% cancelledJun 2026: 73% on time, 0.2% cancelledJul 2026: 61% on time, 1.3% cancelledAug 2026: 67% on time, 1.0% cancelled
Share of flights on time, by month (hover a point for cancellations)
DEN → ATL, monthly on-time and cancellation rate.

Flight numbers on this route

Regular flights with at least 120 scheduled trips in the past year. Sorted by departure time.

FlightDepartsFlightsOn timeCancelledTypical arrivalOperated by
DL 30212:55 a.m.17790%1.1%−18 minDelta Air Lines
DL 3416:00 a.m.36593%0.8%−12 minDelta Air Lines
F9 32946:30 a.m.29087%0.0%−12 minFrontier Airlines
DL 4317:05 a.m.36592%1.6%−12 minDelta Air Lines
DL 22359:39 a.m.26384%0.8%−7 minDelta Air Lines
F9 36009:58 a.m.33170%0.3%−3 minFrontier Airlines
UA 242410:00 a.m.23682%0.4%−7 minUnited Airlines
DL 34610:50 a.m.33977%1.5%−4 minDelta Air Lines
UA 16711:26 p.m.19577%0.5%−7 minUnited Airlines
DL 9573:15 p.m.21483%0.5%−13 minDelta Air Lines
DL 8404:43 p.m.31779%1.9%−14 minDelta Air Lines
UA 13055:48 p.m.36071%0.3%−4 minUnited Airlines
F9 145011:59 p.m.17962%2.8%+5 minFrontier Airlines

Worst days in the past year

DateFlightsOn timeCancelled
Mar 7, 20261513%3
Mar 6, 20261520%3
Dec 3, 20251429%0
Jul 19, 20261729%2
Apr 17, 20261533%0

Questions

How often are flights from DEN to ATL on time?

77% of 5,603 scheduled flights from Denver, CO to Atlanta, GA arrived within 15 minutes of schedule between September 2025 and August 2026. 0.9% were cancelled.

What is the best time of day to fly DEN to ATL?

Flights scheduled to leave at 5 a.m. were the most reliable (94% on time). The 7 p.m. departures were the least (39%).

Which airline is most on time from DEN to ATL?

Delta Air Lines: 84% of its 2,807 flights on the route arrived on time. Southwest Airlines: 62%. United Airlines: 77%. Frontier Airlines: 75%.

What month has the most delays from DEN to ATL?

July (65% on time). The best month is November (85%), over 2023–2026.

Is the last flight of the day from DEN to ATL more likely to be cancelled?

Yes. Each airline's last DEN–ATL flight of the day was cancelled 1.1% of the time over the past year, against 0.9% for its earlier flights. If the last flight is cancelled, the next one is usually the following morning.

Related

Domestic flights by the airlines that report to the U.S. DOT, plus their regional partners. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes after schedule; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Past performance is a guide, not a forecast. Method.