Denver to Charlotte Flight Delays
Sample size: 8,702 DEN–CLT flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). 22.54% of Denver to Charlotte flights arrived at least 15 minutes late. That is 1.7 points better than the 24.2% median for those routes, making this one of the steadier pairings in the network. Departure time moves the odds more than anything else on this route: 06:00 departures run 12.28% late against 39.76% for 15:00. Tuesday is the calmest day at 19.71%, Saturday the worst at 26.5%. Cancellations (2024 to 2025) peak in July at 1.98% of scheduled flights and bottom out in April at 0.2%. Last updated: 2026-10-01.
DEN airport delay guide · CLT airport delay guide · Predict a DEN to CLT flight
Best time to fly DEN to CLT
The best time to fly DEN to CLT is the 6 AM departure and fly on a Tuesday, not a Saturday (19.71% against 26.5%): 12.28% of 6 AM flights arrived 15+ minutes late, against 39.76% at 3 PM.
Lowest observed delay rates depart 06:00–07:00, 23:00. The highest sit at 15:00–17:00. Only departure hours with at least 100 recorded flights are listed, so sparse hours are blank rather than estimated.
DEN to CLT delay rate by scheduled departure hour, January 2023 to December 2025
| Departure hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights observed |
|---|
| 05:00 | 22.55% | 204 |
| 06:00 | 12.28% | 668 |
| 07:00 | 14.34% | 572 |
| 08:00 | 19.13% | 507 |
| 09:00 | 20.03% | 1,153 |
| 10:00 | 17.88% | 923 |
| 11:00 | 19.66% | 290 |
| 12:00 | 20.19% | 208 |
| 13:00 | 24.52% | 526 |
| 14:00 | 27.95% | 322 |
| 15:00 | 39.76% | 327 |
| 16:00 | 29.74% | 696 |
| 17:00 | 31.5% | 1,057 |
| 23:00 | 17.47% | 990 |
DEN to CLT flight time and distance
Scheduled gate-to-gate time from DEN to CLT is a median 3 h 16 min. Flights actually took a median 3 h 8 min gate to gate, including 2 h 38 min in the air. 2.8% ran 30 or more minutes over schedule and 71.7% arrived sooner than scheduled (BTS data, January 2023 to December 2025).
DEN to CLT is 1,337 miles (BTS data).
DEN to CLT flight time by airline, January 2023 to December 2025
| Airline | Scheduled (median) | Actual (median) | In the air (median) | 30+ min over schedule | Flights |
|---|
| American Airlines | 3 h 18 min | 3 h 8 min | 2 h 38 min | 2.3% | 5,191 |
| United Airlines | 3 h 15 min | 3 h 10 min | 2 h 38 min | 3.9% | 1,937 |
| Frontier Airlines | 3 h 16 min | 3 h 9 min | 2 h 38 min | 3.0% | 1,086 |
| Southwest Airlines | 3 h 10 min | 3 h 3 min | 2 h 37 min | 2.7% | 445 |
How late, and why
When a DEN to CLT flight was late (15+ minutes), it arrived an average of 72 minutes late (median 39). 7.3% of all completed flights arrived an hour or more late (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
Of the delay minutes on late DEN to CLT flights, 46.9% were caused by a late incoming aircraft, 33.5% by the airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling), 15.9% by the air-traffic system (volume, non-extreme weather, airport operations), 3.5% by extreme weather and 0.1% by security (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
Causes of delay minutes on late DEN to CLT flights
| Cause | Share of delay minutes |
|---|
| late incoming aircraft | 46.9% |
| airline | 33.5% |
| air-traffic system | 15.9% |
| extreme weather | 3.5% |
| security | 0.1% |
BTS assigns causes to delay minutes on flights that arrived 15+ minutes late. "Air-traffic system" includes non-extreme weather that slows traffic.
DEN to CLT delays by day of week
Denver to Charlotte delay rate by day of week, January 2023 to December 2025
| Day | Delayed 15+ min | Flights observed |
|---|
| Mon | 21.85% | 1,277 |
| Tue | 19.71% | 1,157 |
| Wed | 20.71% | 1,178 |
| Thu | 23.97% | 1,289 |
| Fri | 21.58% | 1,288 |
| Sat | 26.5% | 1,147 |
| Sun | 23.35% | 1,366 |
Month-by-month cancellation pattern
Share of scheduled DEN–CLT flights cancelled in each month, from BTS 2024–2025 on-time reporting. These are cancellations, not delays. Delay figures on this page cover January 2023 to December 2025.
Denver to Charlotte monthly cancellation rate
| Month | Cancelled | Flights scheduled |
|---|
| Jan | 0.82% | 487 |
| Feb | 0.23% | 444 |
| Mar | 1% | 501 |
| Apr | 0.2% | 488 |
| May | 0.8% | 503 |
| Jun | 1.21% | 497 |
| Jul | 1.98% | 506 |
| Aug | 0.81% | 491 |
| Sep | 0.83% | 481 |
| Oct | 0.4% | 504 |
| Nov | 0.44% | 452 |
| Dec | 0.41% | 490 |
Airlines on DEN to CLT: delays and cancellations
American Airlines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines and Southwest Airlines fly this route today. Only carriers with at least 200 scheduled flights on the pairing are listed. Delay rates cover January 2023 to December 2025; cancellation rates cover 2024 to 2025.
DEN vs CLT: airport conditions
Both ends of a route shape its delay profile. These are DelayGuard's operational scores for Denver and Charlotte.
Airport comparison, DEN against CLT
| Measure | DEN (Denver) | CLT (Charlotte) |
|---|
| Congestion | high | high |
| Weather risk | moderate | moderate |
| NAS vulnerability | moderate | moderate |
| Average taxi-out | 17 min | 15 min |
| Runways | 6 | 4 |
DEN to CLT questions
- How long is the flight from Denver to Charlotte?
- Scheduled gate-to-gate time from DEN to CLT is a median 3 h 16 min, and flights actually took a median 3 h 8 min including 2 h 38 min in the air. 2.8% ran 30+ minutes over schedule (BTS data, January 2023 to December 2025).
- How often do DEN to CLT flights get delayed?
- Across 8,702 recorded DEN–CLT departures, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS), 22.54% arrived at least 15 minutes late. Departure time matters most: 6:00 departures run 12.28% late against 39.76% for 15:00. Actual delay frequency varies by airline, time of day, and season.
- What is the best time of year to fly DEN to CLT?
- Denver (CO) sees its highest delays during December–February (winter weather) and June–August (summer storms). Charlotte (NC) peaks during June–September (convective/thunderstorm season). The dominant seasonal risk on this route sits at the origin (Denver) — use the DelayGuard predictor to check conditions for your specific travel date.
- Which airline is most reliable on DEN to CLT?
- On DEN→CLT, American Airlines has the lowest measured delay rate at 19.94% of 5,191 flights, and Southwest Airlines the highest at 33.71% (BTS, January 2023 to December 2025). United Airlines cancels the fewest at 0.21% (2024 to 2025). These are route-specific figures, not airline-wide averages.
- How late are DEN to CLT flights when they are delayed?
- When a DEN to CLT flight was late (15+ minutes), it arrived an average of 72 minutes late (median 39). 7.3% of all completed flights arrived an hour or more late (BTS data, 2023 to 2025).
- How accurate is DelayGuard's delay prediction for this route?
- DelayGuard's delay risk score comes from an ML model trained on BTS data (3.95 million US domestic flights, 2023 to mid-2025), with live weather data (within 5 days of departure) and FAA NAS advisories (within 6 hours) — a likelihood of delay, not a guarantee.
Delay figures reflect arrivals 15 or more minutes late in BTS on-time reporting. Cancellation figures are separate and count flights that never operated. Hours, days and months with fewer than 100 recorded flights are omitted rather than estimated.