Los Angeles (LAX) Flight Delays: Rate, Worst Hours and Live Risk
Los Angeles (LAX) is ranked 20 of 22 for delays among DelayGuard's guide airports (1 is the highest rate): 18.4% of flights departing LAX arrived 15 or more minutes late across 572,741 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. SkyWest Airlines operated 19.8% of those departures, with a 14.5% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 8 PM (25.1%) and 6 PM (22.6%); 5 AM is the best at 5.1%. 0.75% of scheduled LAX departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the flight delay prediction 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 LAX: 8.54%.
48,958 of 573,396 arrivals, January 2023 to December 2025. Not a missed-connection rate.
Flight delays today at LAX
FAA now: No FAA program
Tomorrow: Typical
October delay rate: 15.1%
FAA now is the current National Airspace System program.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) at LAX
Sample size: 572,741 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 18.4%. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Cancellation rate 0.75% of 384,525 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why LAX runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates LAX. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are SkyWest Airlines (19.8%), Delta Air Lines (19.0%) and American Airlines (15.5%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
LAX delays peak in July (22.7%), June (22.4%) and March (19.8%) and are lowest in September (14.2%). 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: 9.2% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 20.8% 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 5.4% of LAX 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 LAX
| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 12 AM | 14.5% | 4,700 |
| 1 AM | 18.4% | 972 |
| 5 AM | 5.1% | 12,590 |
| 6 AM | 7.9% | 30,060 |
| 7 AM | 10.8% | 34,764 |
| 8 AM | 15.4% | 54,477 |
| 9 AM | 16.1% | 46,321 |
| 10 AM | 19.3% | 38,715 |
| 11 AM | 19.3% | 31,765 |
| 12 PM | 21.9% | 27,319 |
| 1 PM | 21.7% | 34,339 |
| 2 PM | 21.9% | 27,436 |
| 3 PM | 21.6% | 25,489 |
| 4 PM | 20.9% | 28,229 |
| 5 PM | 21.0% | 27,318 |
| 6 PM | 22.6% | 29,594 |
| 7 PM | 21.3% | 30,814 |
| 8 PM | 25.1% | 16,186 |
| 9 PM | 20.8% | 24,803 |
| 10 PM | 19.6% | 25,338 |
| 11 PM | 19.0% | 21,512 |
LAX delays and cancellations by month
| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 17.7% | 44,884 | 2.07% |
| Feb | 17.2% | 41,444 | 0.57% |
| Mar | 19.8% | 47,585 | 0.42% |
| Apr | 18.0% | 46,698 | 0.28% |
| May | 19.5% | 49,474 | 0.45% |
| Jun | 22.4% | 49,409 | 0.60% |
| Jul | 22.7% | 51,089 | 1.82% |
| Aug | 18.6% | 50,798 | 0.65% |
| Sep | 14.2% | 47,096 | 0.25% |
| Oct | 15.1% | 49,597 | 0.31% |
| Nov | 15.2% | 46,518 | 1.00% |
| Dec | 19.2% | 48,149 | 0.62% |
Airlines at LAX
| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SkyWest Airlines | 19.8% | 14.5% | 113,394 | 0.45% |
| Delta Air Lines | 19.0% | 17.8% | 108,712 | 0.62% |
| American Airlines | 15.5% | 20.3% | 88,776 | 0.75% |
| United Airlines | 14.0% | 15.8% | 79,899 | 1.11% |
| Southwest Airlines | 13.8% | 21.0% | 79,239 | 0.49% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 5.4% | 20.1% | 30,740 | 1.19% |
| JetBlue Airways | 5.0% | 23.4% | 28,721 | 0.65% |
| Alaska Airlines | 4.6% | 17.2% | 26,125 | 1.52% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1.3% | 33.8% | 7,411 | 1.70% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 1.2% | 24.0% | 6,593 | 1.05% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from LAX
| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to SFO | 28.0% | 33,710 | 0.67% | Route page |
| LAX to JFK | 19.8% | 29,858 | 0.71% | Route page |
| LAX to LAS | 24.4% | 28,599 | 0.74% | Route page |
| LAX to DEN | 17.6% | 22,509 | 0.84% | Route page |
| LAX to SEA | 15.0% | 22,209 | 1.01% | Route page |
| LAX to PHX | 18.4% | 21,227 | 0.59% | Route page |
| LAX to ORD | 17.9% | 20,118 | 1.30% | Route page |
| LAX to DFW | 22.4% | 19,889 | 1.48% | Route page |
| LAX to EWR | 20.8% | 16,284 | 1.75% | Route page |
| LAX to HNL | 20.8% | 16,143 | 0.62% | Predict |
| LAX to ATL | 21.8% | 15,971 | 0.86% | Route page |
| LAX to IAH | 15.2% | 15,857 | 1.29% | Predict |
| LAX to SJC | 13.2% | 15,608 | 0.23% | Predict |
| LAX to SMF | 13.5% | 15,400 | 0.27% | Predict |
| LAX to BOS | 19.2% | 13,585 | 0.40% | Route page |
Nearby airports
- Burbank (BUR): 17.6% delayed
- John Wayne (SNA): 18.2% delayed
- Ontario (ONT): 16.6% delayed
- 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 LAX?
- 18.4% of flights departing LAX arrived 15 or more minutes late across 572,741 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 LAX?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 5.1% late (12,590 flights), 6 AM flights ran 7.9% late (30,060 flights) and 7 AM flights ran 10.8% late (34,764 flights). The worst hours are 8 PM (25.1%), 6 PM (22.6%) and 2 PM (21.9%).
- Which month is worst for delays at LAX?
- July has the highest delay rate at 22.7%. September is the lowest at 14.2%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at LAX?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from LAX, SkyWest Airlines has the lowest delay rate at 14.5% (113,394 flights). Frontier Airlines is highest at 33.8%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are LAX flights cancelled?
- 0.75% of 384,525 scheduled departures from LAX 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 LAX?
- 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 LAX have delays?
- No single carrier dominates LAX. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are SkyWest Airlines (19.8%), Delta Air Lines (19.0%) and American Airlines (15.5%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule. LAX delays peak in July (22.7%), June (22.4%) and March (19.8%) and are lowest in September (14.2%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
- Is LAX better than nearby airports?
- Compare LAX with BUR (17.6%), SNA (18.2%) and ONT (16.6%) on the Los Angeles area: LAX vs BUR vs SNA vs ONT compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.