FlightRecord

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL): Delays & On-Time Performance

Data through May 2026

St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is a tale of two seasons: departures ran 87% on-time in October 2024 but sank to 67% in July 2024. Across the year it averages 78% against a national 78%, over roughly 175 departures a day to 66 destinations.

Departures on-time
78%
left <15 min late
Avg dep delay
16 min
Arrivals on-time
80%
Cancelled
1.3%
Destinations
66
nonstop
Airlines
12

Plan your departure from STL

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

Best departure time
Around 5 a.m.
94% on-time
Best day to fly
Tuesday
83% on-time
Most reliable airline here
Delta Air Lines
88% on-time from STL
Cancellation risk
1.3%
below the US average
Check routes from STL ↓Compare nearby airports ↓

Monthly on-time trend

Monthly departure on-time percentage at STL50%75%100%June 2024: 74% on-time (5,825 flights)74Jun 2024July 2024: 67% on-time (6,029 flights)67August 2024: 80% on-time (5,749 flights)80September 2024: 87% on-time (5,496 flights)87Sep 2024October 2024: 87% on-time (5,762 flights)87November 2024: 86% on-time (5,263 flights)86December 2024: 78% on-time (5,384 flights)78Dec 2024January 2025: 83% on-time (4,717 flights)83February 2025: 83% on-time (4,419 flights)83March 2025: 81% on-time (5,379 flights)81Mar 2025April 2025: 81% on-time (5,439 flights)81May 2025: 77% on-time (5,628 flights)77June 2025: 72% on-time (5,733 flights)72Jun 2025July 2025: 70% on-time (5,855 flights)70August 2025: 78% on-time (5,539 flights)78September 2025: 83% on-time (5,321 flights)83Sep 2025October 2025: 77% on-time (5,611 flights)77November 2025: 78% on-time (5,202 flights)78December 2025: 70% on-time (5,359 flights)70Dec 2025January 2026: 81% on-time (4,683 flights)81February 2026: 81% on-time (4,484 flights)81March 2026: 71% on-time (5,400 flights)71Mar 2026April 2026: 79% on-time (5,156 flights)79May 2026: 74% on-time (5,375 flights)74

Best time of day to depart from STL

On-time percentage by scheduled departure hour at STL5 a.m.: 94% on-time (5,983 flights)56 a.m.: 92% on-time (9,555 flights)67 a.m.: 90% on-time (9,925 flights)78 a.m.: 88% on-time (9,224 flights)89 a.m.: 86% on-time (8,543 flights)910 a.m.: 86% on-time (9,291 flights)1011 a.m.: 83% on-time (6,043 flights)1112 p.m.: 82% on-time (4,638 flights)121 p.m.: 77% on-time (6,831 flights)132 p.m.: 74% on-time (7,597 flights)143 p.m.: 72% on-time (7,329 flights)154 p.m.: 66% on-time (6,052 flights)165 p.m.: 68% on-time (8,573 flights)176 p.m.: 68% on-time (8,678 flights)187 p.m.: 64% on-time (6,510 flights)198 p.m.: 65% on-time (7,105 flights)209 p.m.: 61% on-time (3,848 flights)2110 p.m.: 56% on-time (3,063 flights)22scheduled departure hour

By day of week

DayOn-timeAvg delay
Monday78%18 min
Tuesdaybest83%12 min
Wednesday82%12 min
Thursday80%14 min
Friday79%15 min
Saturday79%14 min
Sunday76%17 min

Next: compare the busiest routes from STL ↓

Busiest routes from STL

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
STL → ATL (Atlanta)3,71885%11 min
STL → DEN (Denver)3,63677%17 min
STL → ORD (Chicago)3,06074%24 min
STL → LGA (New York)2,66079%15 min
STL → MCO (Orlando)2,49480%14 min
STL → DCA (Washington)2,41075%19 min
STL → DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth)2,35875%27 min
STL → PHX (Phoenix)2,28778%17 min
STL → LAS (Las Vegas)2,05380%13 min
STL → DAL (Dallas)1,91680%13 min
STL → DTW (Detroit)1,90885%14 min
STL → MSP (Minneapolis)1,87581%16 min
STL → CLT (Charlotte)1,82782%18 min
STL → MDW (Chicago)1,70683%10 min
STL → BOS (Boston)1,61275%17 min
STL → PHL (Philadelphia)1,57280%17 min
STL → HOU (Houston)1,54680%12 min
STL → BWI (Baltimore)1,28881%12 min
STL → BNA (Nashville)1,26984%9 min
STL → TPA (Tampa)1,22579%12 min
STL → MIA (Miami)1,12383%12 min
STL → EWR (Newark)1,06080%19 min
STL → LAX (Los Angeles)1,02978%15 min
STL → MCI (Kansas City)1,02079%12 min
STL → RSW (Fort Myers)1,00778%13 min
STL → SLC (Salt Lake City)98989%11 min
STL → AUS (Austin)98179%13 min
STL → SEA (Seattle)88279%12 min
STL → FLL (Fort Lauderdale)85177%15 min
STL → OMA (Omaha)82580%12 min
STL → SFO (San Francisco)80471%21 min
STL → MSY (New Orleans)73384%10 min
STL → CLE (Cleveland)70582%10 min
STL → MKE (Milwaukee)68385%11 min
STL → CMH (Columbus)67482%11 min
STL → RDU (Raleigh/Durham)64884%10 min
STL → JAX (Jacksonville)55280%11 min
STL → SAT (San Antonio)54781%12 min
STL → OKC (Oklahoma City)53380%11 min
STL → DSM (Des Moines)51682%10 min
STL → ICT (Wichita)51682%11 min
STL → LIT (Little Rock)51683%10 min
STL → TUL (Tulsa)51683%11 min
STL → SAN (San Diego)47577%13 min
STL → IAH (Houston)45778%20 min
STL → PIT (Pittsburgh)45580%12 min
STL → SRQ (Sarasota/Bradenton)35777%15 min
STL → SMF (Sacramento)33175%12 min
STL → ECP (Panama City)31881%10 min
STL → BUR (Burbank)23871%15 min

Compare airlines departing STL ↓

Where flights into STL come from

RouteFlights/12moOn-timeAvg delay
ATL (Atlanta) → STL3,71882%11 min
DEN (Denver) → STL3,64578%14 min
ORD (Chicago) → STL3,05875%19 min
LGA (New York) → STL2,65980%15 min
MCO (Orlando) → STL2,48377%16 min
DCA (Washington) → STL2,41076%19 min
DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) → STL2,36271%22 min
PHX (Phoenix) → STL2,28981%12 min

Most reliable routes

  1. STL → SLC89%
  2. STL → PNS86%
  3. STL → ATL85%
  4. STL → DTW85%
  5. STL → MKE85%

Most delay-prone routes

  1. STL → BUR71%
  2. STL → SFO71%
  3. STL → ORD74%
  4. STL → BOS75%
  5. STL → SMF75%

What causes delays at STL

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

  • Late-arriving aircraft45%
  • Airline operations31%
  • National airspace system20%
  • Weather4%

Alternative airports near St. Louis

Other airports within 120 miles, compared on departure reliability.

AirportDistanceOn-time departuresAvg delay
BLV — Scott AFB/Midamerica Airport32 mi74%28 min
SPI — Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport84 mi78%19 min
COU — Columbia Regional Airport100 mi79%21 min
DEC — Decatur Airport110 mi81%27 min

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

Airline performance at STL

AirlineOn-time departuresAvg delayFlights
Delta Air Lines88%12 min10,832
Endeavor Air87%12 min831
Republic Airways85%13 min5,770
Alaska Airlines82%11 min1,572
American Airlines81%22 min12,247
PSA Airlines80%25 min1,498
Envoy Air78%17 min3,433
United Airlines78%20 min5,240
Southwest Airlines76%14 min81,407
Spirit Airlines74%22 min455
SkyWest Airlines74%27 min3,211
Frontier Airlines74%26 min2,312

Frequently asked questions

How often are flights delayed at STL?
22% of departures from St. Louis Lambert International Airport left 15+ minutes late between 2024-06 and 2026-05, with an average departure delay of 16 minutes. The national on-time average over the same period was 78%.
What is the best time of day to depart from STL?
Flights scheduled around 5 a.m. depart on time 94% of the time at STL, versus 56% around 10 p.m.. Booking before noon is the usual rule of thumb here.
What is the worst month for delays at STL?
In this dataset, July 2024 was the weakest month at STL, with 67% of departures on time.
How often are flights cancelled at STL?
1.3% of scheduled departures from STL were cancelled in this period, compared with a national rate of 1.6%.

Popular route pages from this airport

Related guides

Based on 128,808 flights, 2024-06–2026-05. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Updated 2026-07-01.