Harrisburg to Atlanta

What the Data Says About MDT to ATL

The Harrisburg to Atlanta corridor (MDT → ATL) covers roughly 620 miles and is served by 8 carriers, based on Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting. Across 5,387 flights in the dataset, this route posts a 88% on-time rate with an average delay of 83.3 minutes when flights run late. Over the most recent 24 months of BTS data, 1,956 flights were recorded on this pairing — 19 cancelled (1.0%) and 8 diverted (0.4%). Those baseline metrics tell you what to expect before you book.

Having 8 carriers on the route matters: more carriers generally means more daily schedule options, competitive pricing, and redundancy when flights are cancelled. With 5,387 total flights analyzed, the 88% on-time figure is statistically meaningful rather than a small-sample fluke. The 83.3-minute average delay applies only to flights that actually ran late, so it is not the average wait across all departures — the majority of flights on this route depart on time under the BTS definition of a delay (15+ minutes past schedule).

Looking at recent months, Oct 2024 posted the best performance on this corridor at 95% on-time, while Jan 2025 came in at 68% on-time — a 27-point gap between best and worst recent month. For travelers evaluating the MDT to ATL route, the combination of a 88% on-time rate, 83.3-minute average delay, 1.0% recent cancellation rate, and 8 available carriers is the concrete summary of what BTS data shows about reliability on this pairing.