Tunis-Carthage: peak hours and the best time to fly

At Tunis-Carthage, the time of your flight matters almost as much as the airline. We analysed the 18,700 flights scheduled at the airport from July to September 2026: on average 203 flights a day (departures and arrivals), against about 150 in February. Here is when the airport is busiest, and at what time flights most often leave and arrive on time.

The airport hour by hour (summer 2026)

Scheduled time	Departures per day	Departures on time	Arrivals per day	Arrivals on time
00:00 – 03:00	3	59%	4	50%
03:00 – 06:00	6	64%	5	42%
06:00 – 09:00	18	40%	8	83%
09:00 – 12:00	18	52%	20	73%
12:00 – 15:00	17	41%	17	56%
15:00 – 18:00	17	33%	16	52%
18:00 – 21:00	16	36%	14	51%
21:00 – 24:00	7	50%	17	50%

"On time" = took off or landed at most 15 minutes late.

Departing: very early in the morning, or late in the evening

• Before 06:00, departures are the most punctual (64% between 03:00 and 06:00). Few aircraft leave at the same time.
• From 06:00 to 09:00 comes the first big wave of the day (18 departures a day over these three hours). Only 40% take off on time: waiting to taxi counts, because the published time is the take-off time.
• The afternoon is the worst time: between 15:00 and 18:00, only one departure in three takes off on time, and when it is late, it is late by 71 minutes on average. Delays built up during the day carry over to later flights.
• After 21:00, punctuality recovers to one departure in two.

Arriving: the morning, without hesitation

Flights landing between 06:00 and 12:00 are on time in three cases out of four or more (83% between 06:00 and 09:00). From midday, arrival punctuality falls to around 50–56% and stays there until late in the evening. Night arrivals (03:00 – 06:00) are the least reliable (42%).

The day of the week hardly matters

No day is clearly better: over summer 2026, punctuality of all flights ranged from 47% (Monday) to 53% (Tuesday and Friday). The time of the flight weighs far more than the day.

Practical tips

• If you have the choice, prefer a departure before 06:00 or late in the evening, and an arrival in the morning.
• Avoid tight connections with a flight scheduled between 12:00 and 21:00.
• If you are picking someone up in the afternoon or evening, check the flight status on the Tunis-Carthage arrivals page just before you leave: one flight in two lands more than a quarter of an hour late.
• When departing, follow your flight on the Tunis-Carthage departures page, updated continuously.
• Every month, our punctuality report compares airports, airlines and times of day.

Method

Schedules published by OACA for Tunis-Carthage, collected every 30 minutes by Tunisia Airports from 1 July to 30 September 2026 (18,700 flights). The published times are take-off and landing times: a departure therefore includes taxiing to the runway, which weighs more at peak hours. Only flights that actually took off or landed are counted in punctuality. Tunisia Airports is an independent website, not affiliated with OACA.