MCO to STL flight delays & on-time performance
Nonstop flights from Orlando International Airport to St. Louis Lambert International Airport · 882 miles · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
No FAA-reported ground stops or delays at MCO or STL right now. Individual flights can still be delayed by the airline; check with your airline for your flight.
Key facts
- Flights from Orlando (MCO) to St. Louis (STL) arrived on time 76% of the time in Aug 2025 – Jul 2026, worse than the 78% national average.
- 0.7% were cancelled, and 9% arrived an hour or more late.
- Southwest Airlines was the most punctual airline here (77% on time); Frontier Airlines was the least (73%).
- Departures scheduled around 7am did best (96% on time); around 7pm did worst (58%).
- Wednesday was the most reliable day to fly (88% on time) and Sunday the least (66%).
- The largest source of delay minutes was late-arriving aircraft (50%).
Which airline is most on time from MCO to STL?
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines | 100% | 0.0% | 1 min | 0.0% | 3 |
| Southwest Airlines | 77% | 0.6% | 15 min | 7.8% | 2,100 |
| Frontier Airlines | 73% | 1.5% | 26 min | 15.5% | 394 |
Best time of day to fly
On-time arrival rate by scheduled departure hour (local time).
- 6am95%191 flights
- 7am96%167 flights
- 8am93%170 flights
- 9am92%165 flights
- 10am83%52 flights
- 11am83%133 flights
- 12pm75%95 flights
- 1pm84%154 flights
- 2pm78%149 flights
- 3pm60%81 flights
- 4pm60%98 flights
- 5pm74%133 flights
- 6pm70%128 flights
- 7pm58%194 flights
- 8pm63%174 flights
- 9pm65%144 flights
- 10pm62%248 flights
Best day of the week
On-time arrival rate by day of departure.
- Monday70%1.1% cancelled
- Tuesday86%0.0% cancelled
- Wednesday88%0.0% cancelled
- Thursday81%0.6% cancelled
- Friday76%0.8% cancelled
- Saturday72%0.5% cancelled
- Sunday66%1.8% 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 aircraft50%
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)32%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion11%
- Extreme weather6%
- Security1%
Why flights are cancelled
Share of cancellations by reason.
- Airline (crew, maintenance, cleaning, fueling)33%
- Extreme weather33%
- Air traffic control & airport congestion33%
- Security0%
MCO to STL: common questions
- How often are MCO to STL flights on time?
- 76% 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 St. Louis cancelled?
- 0.7% of scheduled flights were cancelled (18 of 2,497).
- 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 67 min behind schedule on average, and 9.0% 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: STL 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 → STL, nonstop flights by US airlines that report to the DOT. How we calculate this.