According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Chattanooga, TN (CHA) ranks #130 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Chattanooga, TN posts above-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
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CHA on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Chattanooga, TN sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Chattanooga, TN handles more flight
volume than 66% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
53% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and reliable.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Chattanooga, TN vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 66,136 ·
On-time rate: 83.6%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes449,539 min
Carrier181,459 min · 40%
Late Aircraft166,969 min · 37%
NAS (National Aviation System)65,292 min · 15%
Weather35,297 min · 8%
Security522 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
CHA - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: October (94.2%) · worst: June (89.1%)
CHA - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
CHA - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 16.7 min · taxi-in 6.6 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
CHA's average taxi-out (16.7 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 14.7 min (July 2025) to 19.7 min (December 2024).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Chattanooga, TN, both outside Tennessee so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Chattanooga, TN is the delay mix: Carrier owns 40.4% of 449,539 delay minutes across 66,136 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.6% (4.6 pts above the 79% national average), with 10,835 delayed and 646 cancelled (0.98%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (37.1% late-aircraft, 40.4% carrier, 14.5% NAS, 7.9% weather, 0.1% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, CHA is strongest in October (94.2% on-time) and weakest in June (89.1%), a 5.1-point swing. Volume peaks in October (~996 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 87.3% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Chattanooga, TN vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.6%Top 47%higher than 53% of 382 airports
Chattanooga, TN
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
CHA's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from CHA before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in October rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 16.7 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Chattanooga, TN's on-time rate?
Chattanooga, TN (CHA) has a 83.6% on-time rate across 66,136 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 4.6 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the above-median on-time performance.
How does CHA rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Chattanooga, TN ranks #130 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a mid-size U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Chattanooga, TN?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at CHA, accounting for 40.4% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 37.1% late-aircraft, 40.4% carrier, 14.5% NAS/air-traffic-control, 7.9% weather, and 0.1% security.
When is the best time to fly through Chattanooga, TN?
October is historically CHA's strongest month at 94.2% on-time, while June is the weakest at 89.1%, a 5.1-point swing across the BTS historical record.