DEN to RDU flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Denver International Airport to Raleigh-Durham International Airport · 1,436 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at DEN or RDU right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Denver (DEN) to Raleigh/Durham (RDU) arrived on time 76% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.8% were cancelled, and 7% arrived an hour or more late.
- Frontier Airlines was the most punctual airline here (87% on time); Southwest Airlines was the least (65%).
- Departures scheduled around 6am did best (93% on time); around 7pm did worst (35%).
- Tuesday was the most reliable day to fly (82% on time) and Monday the least (71%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (52%).
Which airline is most on time from DEN to RDU?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 87% | 1.4% | 8 min | 4.2% | 290 |
| United Airlines | 82% | 0.5% | 13 min | 6.0% | 744 |
| Southwest Airlines | 65% | 0.8% | 20 min | 8.8% | 708 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am93%76 flights
- 7am95%20 flights
- 9am87%353 flights
- 10am78%281 flights
- 11am81%168 flights
- 12pm81%52 flights
- 1pm80%41 flights
- 3pm72%19 flights
- 4pm85%61 flights
- 5pm71%431 flights
- 6pm59%83 flights
- 7pm35%111 flights
- 8pm78%18 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday71%0.0% cancelled
- Tuesday82%0.9% cancelled
- Wednesday77%0.4% cancelled
- Thursday73%0.4% cancelled
- Friday74%0.4% cancelled
- Saturday80%0.9% cancelled
- Sunday76%2.7% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft52%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)30%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion17%
- Extreme weather1%
- Security0%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather71%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion0%
- Security0%
DEN to RDU: common questions
- How often are DEN to RDU flights on time?
- 76% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Denver to Raleigh/Durham cancelled?
- 0.8% of scheduled flights were cancelled (14 of 1,742).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 15 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 56 min behind schedule on average, and 6.8% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at DEN?
- Flights on this route spent 20 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: RDU to DEN — 81% on time
More flights from Denver
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: DEN → RDU, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.