LaGuardia (LGA) Flight Delays: Rate, Worst Hours and Live Risk
LaGuardia (LGA) is ranked 17 of 22 for delays among DelayGuard's guide airports (1 is the highest rate): 20.6% of flights departing LGA arrived 15 or more minutes late across 448,129 flights, January 2023 to December 2025. Republic Airways operated 29.6% of those departures, with a 17.7% delay rate of its own. The worst scheduled departure hours are 10 PM (31.5%) and 7 PM (29.9%); 5 AM is the best at 8.6%. 2.67% of scheduled LGA departures were cancelled in 2024 to 2025.
These figures are historical US domestic rates, not a forecast for one departure. Use the free delay prediction for your trip 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 LGA: 11.16%.
49,953 of 447,616 arrivals, January 2023 to December 2025. Not a missed-connection rate.
Flight delays today at LGA
FAA now: No FAA program
Tomorrow: Typical
October delay rate: 17.5%
FAA now is the current National Airspace System program.
Historical delay rate (15+ min late) at LGA
Sample size: 448,129 flights, window: January 2023 to December 2025. Delay rate 20.6%. Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Cancellation rate 2.67% of 298,157 scheduled flights, 2024 to 2025.
Why LGA runs the way it does
No single carrier dominates LGA. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Republic Airways (29.6%), Delta Air Lines (18.0%) and Endeavor Air (14.0%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule.
LGA delays peak in July (30.6%), June (26.4%) and December (23.8%) and are lowest in September (16.8%). 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: 10.2% of flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late against 27.8% 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.
Newark, JFK and LaGuardia are served by the same approach control, the FAA's New York TRACON (N90), so a flow restriction in that airspace can constrain all three at once.
LaGuardia is one of three US airports the FAA classes as Level 3 (slot-coordinated), where scheduled operations are capped per hour during slot-controlled hours.
Best and worst times to fly from LGA
| Hour | Delayed 15+ min | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| 5 AM | 8.6% | 1,663 |
| 6 AM | 8.8% | 32,597 |
| 7 AM | 11.9% | 30,251 |
| 8 AM | 11.8% | 29,022 |
| 9 AM | 13.8% | 31,983 |
| 10 AM | 14.8% | 26,613 |
| 11 AM | 17.3% | 29,352 |
| 12 PM | 17.5% | 28,087 |
| 1 PM | 20.0% | 26,923 |
| 2 PM | 23.8% | 28,837 |
| 3 PM | 27.4% | 30,399 |
| 4 PM | 28.1% | 25,885 |
| 5 PM | 28.5% | 28,934 |
| 6 PM | 29.0% | 27,810 |
| 7 PM | 29.9% | 26,725 |
| 8 PM | 28.9% | 23,459 |
| 9 PM | 25.7% | 16,720 |
| 10 PM | 31.5% | 2,781 |
LGA delays and cancellations by month
| Month | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 20.7% | 35,809 | 3.83% |
| Feb | 18.8% | 35,024 | 2.28% |
| Mar | 18.2% | 38,798 | 0.72% |
| Apr | 18.3% | 38,006 | 1.05% |
| May | 19.6% | 39,307 | 1.72% |
| Jun | 26.4% | 36,350 | 4.03% |
| Jul | 30.6% | 36,257 | 6.89% |
| Aug | 21.0% | 38,039 | 5.02% |
| Sep | 16.8% | 37,252 | 0.63% |
| Oct | 17.5% | 39,532 | 1.53% |
| Nov | 16.9% | 37,712 | 1.75% |
| Dec | 23.8% | 36,043 | 2.43% |
Airlines at LGA
| Airline | Share of departures | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republic Airways | 29.6% | 17.7% | 132,862 | 3.23% |
| Delta Air Lines | 18.0% | 22.5% | 80,617 | 1.88% |
| Endeavor Air | 14.0% | 16.0% | 62,790 | 3.50% |
| American Airlines | 11.3% | 23.7% | 50,742 | 2.53% |
| Southwest Airlines | 7.8% | 23.4% | 34,842 | 2.03% |
| JetBlue Airways | 6.5% | 27.0% | 29,300 | 2.22% |
| United Airlines | 5.4% | 20.2% | 23,999 | 1.88% |
| Spirit Airlines (ceased 2 May 2026) | 4.3% | 20.8% | 19,350 | 2.56% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 1.7% | 22.7% | 7,502 | 2.85% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1.4% | 35.1% | 6,125 | 3.98% |
Regional operators are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
Routes from LGA
| Route | Delayed 15+ min | Flights | Cancelled | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA to ORD | 23.3% | 31,538 | 2.47% | Predict |
| LGA to ATL | 21.1% | 23,247 | 1.82% | Predict |
| LGA to BOS | 20.2% | 22,301 | 2.89% | Predict |
| LGA to DFW | 24.6% | 18,767 | 2.75% | Predict |
| LGA to MIA | 25.3% | 16,801 | 2.23% | Predict |
| LGA to CLT | 18.8% | 15,841 | 2.62% | Predict |
| LGA to MCO | 27.0% | 15,378 | 2.22% | Predict |
| LGA to DCA | 19.3% | 14,307 | 3.57% | Predict |
| LGA to DEN | 22.3% | 14,067 | 1.54% | Predict |
| LGA to FLL | 27.2% | 13,228 | 2.29% | Predict |
| LGA to BNA | 20.5% | 12,586 | 2.94% | Predict |
| LGA to DTW | 18.3% | 12,219 | 2.24% | Predict |
| LGA to IAH | 20.6% | 11,705 | 1.91% | Predict |
| LGA to RDU | 20.4% | 10,586 | 3.13% | Predict |
| LGA to STL | 17.8% | 10,229 | 2.86% | Predict |
Nearby airports
- JFK: 22.9% delayed
- Newark (EWR): 23.4% delayed
- Summer thunderstorm delays: which airports suffer most
- Northeast winter flights: what the data shows
- Thanksgiving and Christmas 2026 flight delay guide
- US airline cancellation rates
Questions
- How often are flights delayed at LGA?
- 20.6% of flights departing LGA arrived 15 or more minutes late across 448,129 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 LGA?
- Early departures run best. 5 AM flights ran 8.6% late (1,663 flights), 6 AM flights ran 8.8% late (32,597 flights) and 8 AM flights ran 11.8% late (29,022 flights). The worst hours are 10 PM (31.5%), 7 PM (29.9%) and 6 PM (29.0%).
- Which month is worst for delays at LGA?
- July has the highest delay rate at 30.6%. September is the lowest at 16.8%.
- Which airline has the best on-time record at LGA?
- Among carriers still flying with at least 5,000 flights from LGA, Endeavor Air has the lowest delay rate at 16.0% (62,790 flights). Frontier Airlines is highest at 35.1%. Regional operators such as SkyWest are reported separately from the airline brands they fly for.
- How often are LGA flights cancelled?
- 2.67% of 298,157 scheduled departures from LGA 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 LGA?
- 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 LGA have delays?
- No single carrier dominates LGA. The largest carriers in this window, by departures, are Republic Airways (29.6%), Delta Air Lines (18.0%) and Endeavor Air (14.0%), so the airport's record reflects several operations rather than one hub schedule. LGA delays peak in July (30.6%), June (26.4%) and December (23.8%) and are lowest in September (16.8%). That shape is consistent with the summer thunderstorm season, when convective weather builds through the afternoon and slows arrivals and departures.
- Is LGA better than nearby airports?
- Compare LGA with JFK (22.9%) and EWR (23.4%) on the New York: JFK vs LGA vs EWR compared page. Those are the delay rates for flights departing each airport over the same window.