FlightRecord

Orlando International Airport (MCO): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Orlando International Airport (MCO) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 65% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 75% against a national 78%, over roughly 443 departures a day to 96 destinations.

Departures on-time
75%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
19 min
Arrivals on-time
76%
Cancelled
1.6%
Destinations
96
nonstop
Airlines
11

Plan your departure from MCO

The choices most likely to improve your odds, based on this airport’s historical record.

Best departure time
Around 6 a.m.
93% on-time
Best day to fly
Wednesday
81% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Republic Airways
84% on-time from MCO
Cancellation risk
1.6%
close to the US average
Check routes from MCO ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MCO50%75%100%June 2024: 70% on-time (13,175 flights)70Jun 2024July 2024: 65% on-time (13,337 flights)65August 2024: 69% on-time (12,173 flights)69September 2024: 84% on-time (10,764 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (12,289 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (12,656 flights)85December 2024: 77% on-time (13,621 flights)77Dec 2024January 2025: 79% on-time (13,058 flights)79February 2025: 80% on-time (12,575 flights)80March 2025: 80% on-time (15,071 flights)80Mar 2025April 2025: 81% on-time (14,194 flights)81May 2025: 71% on-time (13,597 flights)71June 2025: 71% on-time (13,234 flights)71Jun 2025July 2025: 67% on-time (13,579 flights)67August 2025: 69% on-time (12,746 flights)69September 2025: 84% on-time (11,256 flights)84Sep 2025October 2025: 78% on-time (13,245 flights)78November 2025: 79% on-time (13,206 flights)79December 2025: 70% on-time (14,287 flights)70Dec 2025January 2026: 75% on-time (13,786 flights)75February 2026: 74% on-time (13,339 flights)74March 2026: 68% on-time (15,497 flights)68Mar 2026April 2026: 78% on-time (14,604 flights)78May 2026: 76% on-time (12,958 flights)76

Best time of day to depart from MCO

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MCO5 a.m.: 92% on-time (6,213 flights)56 a.m.: 93% on-time (22,348 flights)67 a.m.: 92% on-time (25,156 flights)78 a.m.: 89% on-time (20,563 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (22,360 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (19,437 flights)1011 a.m.: 80% on-time (19,701 flights)1112 p.m.: 77% on-time (16,012 flights)121 p.m.: 74% on-time (15,451 flights)132 p.m.: 73% on-time (16,226 flights)143 p.m.: 70% on-time (19,360 flights)154 p.m.: 67% on-time (18,063 flights)165 p.m.: 65% on-time (20,797 flights)176 p.m.: 64% on-time (18,744 flights)187 p.m.: 60% on-time (23,540 flights)198 p.m.: 58% on-time (18,278 flights)209 p.m.: 55% on-time (9,993 flights)2110 p.m.: 58% on-time (4,300 flights)2211 p.m.: 73% on-time (1,703 flights)23scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday73%21 min
Tuesday81%14 min
Wednesdaybest81%14 min
Thursday76%18 min
Friday75%19 min
Saturday74%18 min
Sunday70%26 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from MCO ↓

Busiest routes from MCO

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MCO → ATL (Atlanta)8,22674%21 min
MCO → EWR (Newark)6,65372%26 min
MCO → ORD (Chicago)6,42273%22 min
MCO → SJU (San Juan)6,03776%16 min
MCO → PHL (Philadelphia)5,34273%23 min
MCO → LGA (New York)5,30272%22 min
MCO → JFK (New York)4,94374%22 min
MCO → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)4,93274%23 min
MCO → CLT (Charlotte)4,76079%17 min
MCO → BWI (Baltimore)4,75377%15 min
MCO → BOS (Boston)4,64673%21 min
MCO → DCA (Washington)4,58570%25 min
MCO → DEN (Denver)4,57579%15 min
MCO → MIA (Miami)3,84077%20 min
MCO → DTW (Detroit)3,76775%19 min
MCO → IAH (Houston)3,71080%17 min
MCO → BNA (Nashville)3,48077%15 min
MCO → LAX (Los Angeles)3,45380%17 min
MCO → MDW (Chicago)2,79674%16 min
MCO → AUS (Austin)2,74877%16 min
MCO → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)2,70377%19 min
MCO → DAL (Dallas)2,65674%16 min
MCO → STL (St. Louis)2,48377%16 min
MCO → IND (Indianapolis)2,41376%16 min
MCO → MSY (New Orleans)2,30077%16 min
MCO → CMH (Columbus)2,22475%16 min
MCO → IAD (Washington)2,20481%17 min
MCO → PIT (Pittsburgh)2,15276%16 min
MCO → HOU (Houston)2,02077%14 min
MCO → CLE (Cleveland)2,00679%15 min
MCO → MSP (Minneapolis)1,94579%20 min
MCO → BDL (Hartford)1,89676%17 min
MCO → LAS (Las Vegas)1,86280%13 min
MCO → PHX (Phoenix)1,83577%18 min
MCO → SEA (Seattle)1,82276%17 min
MCO → CVG (Cincinnati)1,77774%22 min
MCO → BUF (Buffalo)1,76873%18 min
MCO → PVD (Providence)1,61577%16 min
MCO → MCI (Kansas City)1,57275%16 min
MCO → SLC (Salt Lake City)1,55681%15 min
MCO → SFO (San Francisco)1,48878%16 min
MCO → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)1,44375%16 min
MCO → ISP (Islip)1,42577%14 min
MCO → MKE (Milwaukee)1,39976%15 min
MCO → RIC (Richmond)1,22773%19 min
MCO → HPN (White Plains)1,20272%22 min
MCO → SAT (San Antonio)1,14277%16 min
MCO → ALB (Albany)1,06475%16 min
MCO → SAN (San Diego)1,03774%16 min
MCO → BQN (Aguadilla)97072%19 min

Compare airlines departing MCO ↓

Where flights into MCO come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → MCO8,22970%22 min
EWR (Newark) → MCO6,65476%19 min
ORD (Chicago) → MCO6,41975%19 min
SJU (San Juan) → MCO6,03480%16 min
PHL (Philadelphia) → MCO5,34773%22 min
LGA (New York) → MCO5,30272%23 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → MCO4,93466%25 min
JFK (New York) → MCO4,93273%21 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MCO → ORH87%
  2. MCO → MHT83%
  3. MCO → SLC81%
  4. MCO → GRR81%
  5. MCO → LBE81%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MCO → RSW61%
  2. MCO → ABE62%
  3. MCO → TUL68%
  4. MCO → PDX69%
  5. MCO → AVL69%

What causes delays at MCO

Share of total delay minutes by cause, as reported by carriers to the US DOT, weighted across routes departing MCO.

  • Late-arriving aircraft41%
  • Airline operations28%
  • National airspace system24%
  • Weather7%

Alternative airports near Orlando

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
SFB — Orlando Sanford International Airport24 mi73%22 min
MLB — Melbourne Orlando International Airport47 mi83%15 min
DAB — Daytona Beach International Airport54 mi83%16 min
TPA — Tampa International Airport81 mi78%17 min
PIE — St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport91 mi78%17 min

Compare the airport-level record first, then check the exact route you plan to book.

Airline performance at MCO

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Republic Airways84%16 min1,120
United Airlines81%17 min29,084
Frontier Airlines78%18 min34,780
Delta Air Lines77%20 min42,694
Alaska Airlines76%17 min5,145
Spirit Airlines76%18 min36,036
American Airlines76%23 min37,963
JetBlue Airways74%21 min36,229
Southwest Airlines72%17 min94,358
Allegiant Air70%31 min776

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MCO?
25% of departures from Orlando International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 19 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from MCO?
Flights scheduled around 6 a.m. depart on time 93% of the time at MCO, versus 55% around 9 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MCO?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at MCO, with 65% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MCO?
1.6% of scheduled departures from MCO were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 318,247 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.