Fort Lauderdale (FLL) Flight Delays: Rate, Worst Hours and Live Risk
Fort Lauderdale (FLL) is ranked 1 of 22 for delays among DelayGuard's guide airports (1 is the highest rate): 27.3% of flights departing FLL arrived 15 or more minutes late across 264,272 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Spirit Airlines operated 26.3% of those departures, with a 31.0% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 9 PM (41.1%) and 7 PM (40.4%); 5 AM is the best at 8.5%. 1.44% of scheduled FLL departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the AI delay predictor before you book.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-18. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Layover buffer
Chance an inbound arrival is 45+ min late at FLL: 12.79%.
33,783 of 264,061 arrivals, January 2023 to December 2025. Not a missed-connection rate.
Flight delays today at FLL
FAA now: No FAA program
Tomorrow: Higher than usual
October delay rate: 19.3%
FAA now is the current National Airspace System program.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) at FLL
Sample size: 264,272 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 27.3%. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Cancellation rate 1.44% of 179,475 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why FLL runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates FLL. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Spirit Airlines (26.3%, ceased operations 2 May 2026), JetBlue Airways (21.0%) and Southwest Airlines (15.8%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
FLL delays peak in July (34.6%), June (33.9%) and August (31.9%) and are lowest in October (19.3%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
Delays build through the day: 10.5% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 38.8% after 8 PM. That is the pattern BTS describes as late-arriving aircraft, where a previous flight with the same aircraft arriving late makes the next departure late.
Spirit Airlines flew 26.3% of FLL departures in this history. Spirit stopped flying on 2 May 2026, so today's carrier mix differs from the one behind these figures.
Best and worst times to fly from FLL
| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 5 AM | 8.5% | 4,026 |
| 6 AM | 8.6% | 20,375 |
| 7 AM | 12.3% | 26,570 |
| 8 AM | 14.0% | 16,812 |
| 9 AM | 16.6% | 11,769 |
| 10 AM | 18.5% | 10,603 |
| 11 AM | 21.0% | 15,091 |
| 12 PM | 25.8% | 13,487 |
| 1 PM | 29.4% | 13,562 |
| 2 PM | 32.5% | 13,991 |
| 3 PM | 35.1% | 15,386 |
| 4 PM | 38.7% | 14,462 |
| 5 PM | 37.5% | 15,092 |
| 6 PM | 39.5% | 18,984 |
| 7 PM | 40.4% | 19,214 |
| 8 PM | 37.8% | 21,437 |
| 9 PM | 41.1% | 9,404 |
| 10 PM | 40.2% | 3,510 |
| 11 PM | 32.0% | 497 |
FLL delays and cancellations by month
| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 27.6% | 23,334 | 2.70% |
| Feb | 23.2% | 22,423 | 0.75% |
| Mar | 30.9% | 26,174 | 1.29% |
| Apr | 26.9% | 23,337 | 0.69% |
| May | 26.4% | 21,973 | 0.70% |
| Jun | 33.9% | 20,071 | 2.62% |
| Jul | 34.6% | 20,836 | 2.56% |
| Aug | 31.9% | 19,990 | 2.06% |
| Sep | 22.6% | 18,084 | 0.51% |
| Oct | 19.3% | 20,488 | 0.71% |
| Nov | 20.6% | 22,355 | 1.30% |
| Dec | 29.5% | 25,207 | 1.33% |
Airlines at FLL
| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 26.3% | 31.0% | 69,635 | 1.36% |
| JetBlue Airways | 21.0% | 30.4% | 55,432 | 1.33% |
| Southwest Airlines | 15.8% | 25.9% | 41,793 | 1.18% |
| Delta Air Lines | 13.7% | 22.5% | 36,136 | 1.24% |
| United Airlines | 9.1% | 19.1% | 23,944 | 1.63% |
| American Airlines | 7.1% | 23.3% | 18,845 | 2.05% |
| Allegiant Air | 3.9% | 30.3% | 10,369 | 1.02% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2.1% | 35.3% | 5,485 | 3.35% |
| Alaska Airlines | 1.0% | 31.5% | 2,579 | 4.68% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from FLL
| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FLL to ATL | 28.6% | 21,941 | 1.38% | Predict |
| FLL to EWR | 28.1% | 15,139 | 2.33% | Predict |
| FLL to LGA | 26.8% | 13,249 | 1.93% | Predict |
| FLL to JFK | 29.0% | 11,385 | 2.24% | Predict |
| FLL to BWI | 25.0% | 10,972 | 1.72% | Predict |
| FLL to CLT | 23.6% | 9,703 | 1.39% | Predict |
| FLL to BOS | 31.2% | 9,345 | 1.57% | Predict |
| FLL to ORD | 28.1% | 8,570 | 1.43% | Predict |
| FLL to DFW | 28.9% | 8,352 | 2.50% | Predict |
| FLL to PHL | 26.4% | 7,771 | 1.84% | Predict |
| FLL to IAH | 24.5% | 7,597 | 1.44% | Predict |
| FLL to DTW | 21.6% | 7,495 | 0.94% | Predict |
| FLL to DCA | 28.4% | 7,019 | 1.40% | Predict |
| FLL to SJU | 29.1% | 6,993 | 0.74% | Predict |
| FLL to BNA | 25.3% | 6,156 | 1.04% | Predict |
Nearby airports
- Miami (MIA): 27.0% delayed
- Do rocket launches delay flights in Florida?
- Summer thunderstorm delays: which airports suffer most
- Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 flight delay guide
- US airline cancellation rates
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at FLL?
- 27.3% of flights departing FLL arrived 15 or more minutes late across 264,272 flights, January 2023 to December 2025 (BTS). Across all US domestic flights in the data, the rate is 21.2%.
- What is the best time to fly from FLL?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 8.5% late (4,026 flights), 6 AM flights ran 8.6% late (20,375 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 12.3% late (26,570 flights). The worst hours are 9 PM (41.1%), 7 PM (40.4%) and 10 PM (40.2%).
- Which month is worst for delays at FLL?
- July has the highest delay rate at 34.6%. October is the lowest at 19.3%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at FLL?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from FLL, United Airlines has the lowest delay rate at 19.1% (23,944 flights). Frontier Airlines is highest at 35.3%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are FLL flights cancelled?
- 1.44% of 179,475 scheduled departures from FLL were cancelled in 2024 to 2025. The US figure over the same period is 1.41%. See the full ranking on the cancellation rates page.
- Does DelayGuard show live delays at FLL?
- Yes. The live module on this page shows DelayGuard's hourly risk score and any active FAA ground stop or ground delay program. It is separate from the historical BTS figures above. For a specific flight, the predictor gives a model probability that combines history, weather and FAA data.
- Why does FLL have delays?
- No single carrier dominates FLL. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Spirit Airlines (26.3%, ceased operations 2 May 2026), JetBlue Airways (21.0%) and Southwest Airlines (15.8%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule. FLL delays peak in July (34.6%), June (33.9%) and August (31.9%) and are lowest in October (19.3%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
- Is FLL better than nearby airports?
- Compare FLL with MIA (27.0%) on the South Florida: MIA vs FLL compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.