MCO to MSY flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Orlando International Airport to Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport · 551 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
- MCO: Departure delays 16–30 minutes. Departure delays of 16–30 minutes due to tm initiatives:mit:wx (increasing).
On-time arrivals
75%
arrived < 15 min late
Cancelled
1.1%
24 flights
Avg arrival delay
17 min
62 min when late
Airlines
3
2,272 flights tracked
Key facts
- Flights from Orlando (MCO) to New Orleans (MSY) arrived on time 75% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 1.1% were cancelled, and 9% arrived an hour or more late.
- Frontier Airlines was the most punctual airline here (82% on time); Spirit Airlines was the least (72%).
- Departures scheduled around 8am did best (94% on time); around 8pm did worst (53%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (84% on time) and Sunday the least (62%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (45%).
Which airline is most on time from MCO to MSY?
Ranked by on-time arrival rate. Regional airlines fly under their partner's brand (e.g. SkyWest for Delta Connection or United Express).
| Airline | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | 1 hr+ late | Flights |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frontier Airlines | 82% | 1.5% | 14 min | 9.1% | 202 |
| Southwest Airlines | 74% | 0.4% | 16 min | 8.4% | 1,613 |
| Spirit Airlines | 72% | 3.1% | 20 min | 12.4% | 457 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am92%185 flights
- 7am92%150 flights
- 8am94%93 flights
- 9am87%203 flights
- 10am83%142 flights
- 11am84%77 flights
- 12pm73%51 flights
- 1pm69%83 flights
- 2pm73%154 flights
- 3pm76%170 flights
- 4pm63%99 flights
- 5pm74%117 flights
- 6pm58%238 flights
- 7pm63%122 flights
- 8pm53%91 flights
- 9pm61%197 flights
- 10pm70%81 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday75%1.6% cancelled
- Tuesday83%0.4% cancelled
- Wednesday84%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday76%0.3% cancelled
- Friday73%0.5% cancelled
- Saturday73%1.8% cancelled
- Sunday62%2.5% cancelled
On-time trend by month
Why flights are late
Share of delay minutes by cause, as reported by airlines to the DOT.
- Late-arriving aircraft45%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion19%
- Extreme weather6%
- Security1%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Extreme weather67%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)29%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion4%
- Security0%
MCO to MSY: common questions
- How often are MCO to MSY flights on time?
- 75% of flights arrived less than 15 minutes late in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, compared with 78% for all US flights.
- How often are flights from Orlando to New Orleans cancelled?
- 1.1% of scheduled flights were cancelled (24 of 2,272).
- How long are typical delays?
- Across all flights the average arrival delay was 17 min (early arrivals count as zero). Flights that were late arrived 62 min behind schedule on average, and 9.3% of flights were an hour or more late.
- How long is taxi time at MCO?
- Flights on this route spent 18 min taxiing from the gate to takeoff on average.
Related routes
Return trip: MSY to MCO — 78% on time
More flights from Orlando
Data: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Aug 2025 – Jul 2026 (12 months). Latest month published by BTS: July 2026. Route: MCO → MSY, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.