Document And Entity Information - shares	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2016	Nov. 07, 2016
Common Class A [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		15,844,319
Common Class B [Member]
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		2,350,000
Entity Registrant Name	COVENANT TRANSPORTATION GROUP INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000928658
Trading Symbol	cvti
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false