FlightRecord

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport (MSY) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 86% on-time in September 2025 but sank to 65% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 78% against a national 78%, over roughly 136 departures a day to 51 destinations.

Departures on-time
78%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
17 min
Arrivals on-time
78%
Cancelled
1.8%
Destinations
51
nonstop
Airlines
13

Plan your departure from MSY

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
93% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
84% on-time
Most reliable airline here
United Airlines
86% on-time from MSY
Cancellation risk
1.8%
close to the US average
Check routes from MSY ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at MSY50%75%100%June 2024: 75% on-time (4,205 flights)75Jun 2024July 2024: 65% on-time (4,192 flights)65August 2024: 77% on-time (3,768 flights)77September 2024: 84% on-time (3,659 flights)84Sep 2024October 2024: 86% on-time (4,463 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (4,236 flights)85December 2024: 78% on-time (4,205 flights)78Dec 2024January 2025: 82% on-time (4,207 flights)82February 2025: 78% on-time (4,440 flights)78March 2025: 79% on-time (4,838 flights)79Mar 2025April 2025: 80% on-time (4,529 flights)80May 2025: 75% on-time (4,483 flights)75June 2025: 69% on-time (4,062 flights)69Jun 2025July 2025: 70% on-time (4,039 flights)70August 2025: 80% on-time (3,739 flights)80September 2025: 86% on-time (3,619 flights)86Sep 2025October 2025: 80% on-time (4,699 flights)80November 2025: 80% on-time (4,314 flights)80December 2025: 75% on-time (4,152 flights)75Dec 2025January 2026: 83% on-time (3,901 flights)83February 2026: 81% on-time (4,111 flights)81March 2026: 73% on-time (4,485 flights)73Mar 2026April 2026: 80% on-time (4,428 flights)80May 2026: 71% on-time (4,194 flights)71

Best time of day to depart from MSY

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MSY5 a.m.: 93% on-time (5,608 flights)56 a.m.: 92% on-time (8,436 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (7,773 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (4,140 flights)89 a.m.: 87% on-time (5,630 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (7,454 flights)1011 a.m.: 80% on-time (6,653 flights)1112 p.m.: 78% on-time (5,024 flights)121 p.m.: 75% on-time (4,835 flights)132 p.m.: 71% on-time (7,532 flights)143 p.m.: 70% on-time (6,280 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,348 flights)165 p.m.: 70% on-time (7,201 flights)176 p.m.: 64% on-time (7,044 flights)187 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,127 flights)198 p.m.: 65% on-time (2,710 flights)209 p.m.: 63% on-time (1,752 flights)2110 p.m.: 69% on-time (415 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday77%18 min
Tuesdaybest84%13 min
Wednesday82%14 min
Thursday78%16 min
Friday78%17 min
Saturday81%17 min
Sunday74%20 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from MSY ↓

Busiest routes from MSY

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MSY → ATL (Atlanta)4,09782%13 min
MSY → IAH (Houston)2,99783%14 min
MSY → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,82772%28 min
MSY → ORD (Chicago)2,38480%17 min
MSY → MCO (Orlando)2,30579%16 min
MSY → DAL (Dallas)2,29178%14 min
MSY → HOU (Houston)2,26578%13 min
MSY → DEN (Denver)2,26380%13 min
MSY → AUS (Austin)2,07077%15 min
MSY → DCA (Washington)1,95672%23 min
MSY → CLT (Charlotte)1,76982%16 min
MSY → MIA (Miami)1,54577%21 min
MSY → LAX (Los Angeles)1,54081%15 min
MSY → BNA (Nashville)1,50782%11 min
MSY → LGA (New York)1,42373%24 min
MSY → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)1,38575%19 min
MSY → EWR (Newark)1,21280%20 min
MSY → BWI (Baltimore)1,20181%12 min
MSY → JFK (New York)1,14676%22 min
MSY → PHL (Philadelphia)1,10878%25 min
MSY → TPA (Tampa)1,09779%15 min
MSY → MDW (Chicago)1,02381%11 min
MSY → PHX (Phoenix)93576%20 min
MSY → BOS (Boston)85970%30 min
MSY → DTW (Detroit)84583%13 min
MSY → LAS (Las Vegas)84480%12 min
MSY → STL (St. Louis)73283%9 min
MSY → IAD (Washington)64990%7 min
MSY → SEA (Seattle)62673%15 min
MSY → SFO (San Francisco)52579%19 min
MSY → SLC (Salt Lake City)45991%6 min
MSY → MSP (Minneapolis)44484%14 min
MSY → MCI (Kansas City)38182%11 min
MSY → SAT (San Antonio)35578%15 min
MSY → SAN (San Diego)34971%16 min
MSY → PDX (Portland)11583%10 min

Compare airlines departing MSY ↓

Where flights into MSY come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → MSY4,09478%15 min
IAH (Houston) → MSY2,99782%14 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → MSY2,82168%24 min
ORD (Chicago) → MSY2,38676%18 min
MCO (Orlando) → MSY2,30077%16 min
DAL (Dallas) → MSY2,29377%14 min
HOU (Houston) → MSY2,26584%10 min
DEN (Denver) → MSY2,26476%14 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MSY → SLC91%
  2. MSY → IAD90%
  3. MSY → MSP84%
  4. MSY → PDX83%
  5. MSY → IAH83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MSY → BOS70%
  2. MSY → SAN71%
  3. MSY → DCA72%
  4. MSY → DFW72%
  5. MSY → LGA73%

What causes delays at MSY

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft46%
  • Airline operations29%
  • National airspace system20%
  • Weather5%

Alternative airports near New Orleans

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
BTR — Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport65 mi80%20 min
GPT — Gulfport Biloxi International Airport77 mi84%16 min
LFT — Lafayette Regional Airport104 mi79%23 min
PIB — Hattiesburg Laurel Regional Airport116 mi84%19 min

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

Airline performance at MSY

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
United Airlines86%13 min13,540
Republic Airways82%16 min1,438
Delta Air Lines82%15 min15,124
SkyWest Airlines80%17 min1,068
Envoy Air80%15 min1,846
Spirit Airlines77%18 min9,195
American Airlines76%25 min14,488
Alaska Airlines75%14 min1,523
Southwest Airlines75%15 min36,874
Allegiant Air75%26 min184
PSA Airlines73%29 min1,755
JetBlue Airways71%29 min2,306
Frontier Airlines69%28 min1,627

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MSY?
22% of departures from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 17 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from MSY?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 93% of the time at MSY, versus 63% around 9 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at MSY?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at MSY, with 65% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at MSY?
1.8% of scheduled departures from MSY were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 100,968 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.