FlightRecord

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

Data through July 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 77% against a national 78%, over roughly 135 departures a day to 51 destinations.

Departures on-time
77%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
18 min
Arrivals on-time
77%
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
83% 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%August 2024: 77% on-time (3,768 flights)77Aug 2024September 2024: 84% on-time (3,659 flights)84October 2024: 86% on-time (4,463 flights)86November 2024: 85% on-time (4,236 flights)85Nov 2024December 2024: 78% on-time (4,205 flights)78January 2025: 82% on-time (4,207 flights)82February 2025: 78% on-time (4,440 flights)78Feb 2025March 2025: 79% on-time (4,838 flights)79April 2025: 80% on-time (4,529 flights)80May 2025: 75% on-time (4,483 flights)75May 2025June 2025: 69% on-time (4,062 flights)69July 2025: 70% on-time (4,039 flights)70August 2025: 80% on-time (3,739 flights)80Aug 2025September 2025: 86% on-time (3,619 flights)86October 2025: 80% on-time (4,699 flights)80November 2025: 80% on-time (4,314 flights)80Nov 2025December 2025: 75% on-time (4,152 flights)75January 2026: 83% on-time (3,901 flights)83February 2026: 81% on-time (4,111 flights)81Feb 2026March 2026: 73% on-time (4,485 flights)73April 2026: 80% on-time (4,428 flights)80May 2026: 71% on-time (4,194 flights)71May 2026June 2026: 69% on-time (3,709 flights)69July 2026: 68% on-time (3,801 flights)68

Best time of day to depart from MSY

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at MSY5 a.m.: 93% on-time (5,745 flights)56 a.m.: 92% on-time (8,668 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (8,134 flights)78 a.m.: 90% on-time (4,286 flights)89 a.m.: 87% on-time (5,829 flights)910 a.m.: 83% on-time (7,596 flights)1011 a.m.: 80% on-time (6,839 flights)1112 p.m.: 77% on-time (5,347 flights)121 p.m.: 75% on-time (4,869 flights)132 p.m.: 71% on-time (7,955 flights)143 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,477 flights)154 p.m.: 69% on-time (6,494 flights)165 p.m.: 68% on-time (7,650 flights)176 p.m.: 63% on-time (7,281 flights)187 p.m.: 67% on-time (6,256 flights)198 p.m.: 65% on-time (2,713 flights)209 p.m.: 62% on-time (1,711 flights)2110 p.m.: 66% on-time (418 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday76%19 min
Tuesdaybest83%13 min
Wednesday82%14 min
Thursday77%17 min
Friday77%18 min
Saturday80%17 min
Sunday73%21 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from MSY ↓

Busiest routes from MSY

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
MSY → ATL (Atlanta)4,02881%14 min
MSY → IAH (Houston)2,92983%14 min
MSY → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,80872%28 min
MSY → ORD (Chicago)2,40180%17 min
MSY → HOU (Houston)2,29778%13 min
MSY → DAL (Dallas)2,28777%14 min
MSY → DEN (Denver)2,27780%13 min
MSY → MCO (Orlando)2,24378%16 min
MSY → AUS (Austin)1,99976%15 min
MSY → DCA (Washington)1,94871%26 min
MSY → CLT (Charlotte)1,71281%18 min
MSY → MIA (Miami)1,52278%20 min
MSY → BNA (Nashville)1,48380%12 min
MSY → LAX (Los Angeles)1,45780%16 min
MSY → LGA (New York)1,42072%25 min
MSY → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)1,41274%19 min
MSY → EWR (Newark)1,22880%19 min
MSY → BWI (Baltimore)1,15780%12 min
MSY → JFK (New York)1,14276%23 min
MSY → PHL (Philadelphia)1,13178%26 min
MSY → TPA (Tampa)1,06379%16 min
MSY → MDW (Chicago)1,01479%12 min
MSY → PHX (Phoenix)93476%21 min
MSY → BOS (Boston)85369%30 min
MSY → LAS (Las Vegas)84780%12 min
MSY → DTW (Detroit)81082%14 min
MSY → STL (St. Louis)73282%10 min
MSY → IAD (Washington)63191%7 min
MSY → SEA (Seattle)62673%16 min
MSY → SFO (San Francisco)52477%19 min
MSY → SLC (Salt Lake City)45590%8 min
MSY → MSP (Minneapolis)44083%14 min
MSY → MCI (Kansas City)36481%12 min
MSY → SAT (San Antonio)34677%15 min
MSY → SAN (San Diego)34270%16 min
MSY → PDX (Portland)11583%10 min

Compare airlines departing MSY ↓

Where flights into MSY come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → MSY4,02577%15 min
IAH (Houston) → MSY2,93081%14 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → MSY2,80468%25 min
ORD (Chicago) → MSY2,40376%18 min
HOU (Houston) → MSY2,29783%10 min
DAL (Dallas) → MSY2,28976%15 min
DEN (Denver) → MSY2,27776%15 min
MCO (Orlando) → MSY2,27276%16 min

Most reliable routes

  1. MSY → IAD91%
  2. MSY → SLC90%
  3. MSY → MSP83%
  4. MSY → PDX83%
  5. MSY → IAH83%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. MSY → BOS69%
  2. MSY → SAN70%
  3. MSY → DCA71%
  4. MSY → DFW72%
  5. MSY → LGA72%

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 mi85%16 min
LFT — Lafayette Regional Airport104 mi79%24 min
PIB — Hattiesburg Laurel Regional Airport116 mi83%20 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 min14,033
Republic Airways82%16 min1,504
Delta Air Lines81%16 min15,741
Envoy Air80%15 min1,873
SkyWest Airlines79%18 min1,120
Spirit Airlines77%18 min8,739
American Airlines76%25 min15,158
Alaska Airlines75%15 min1,584
Allegiant Air74%27 min176
Southwest Airlines74%15 min38,284
PSA Airlines72%31 min1,881
JetBlue Airways70%29 min2,443
Frontier Airlines69%29 min1,737

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at MSY?
23% of departures from Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-07 and 2026-07, with an average departure delay of 18 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 62% 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 104,273 flights, 2024-07–2026-07. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-09-28.