73% of flights leaving Orlando (MCO) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 3 points worse than the national average of 76%. That ranks 65 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 438 flights leave MCO on a typical day; 1.8% were cancelled. 72% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 6 a.m. (92% on time). Worst: 9 p.m. (56%).
- Best month: November (82%). Worst: July (65%).
- Most reliable airline here: United Airlines (80%), vs Spirit Airlines at 67%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (43% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (76% → 73%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving MCO: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 52% of the time. About 1 in 11 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 56 three hours or more; 1.8% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early73%
- 15–30 min late8.5%
- 30–60 min late7.3%
- 1–2 hours late5.4%
- 2–3 hours late2.0%
- 3+ hours late1.8%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.8%
Share of all 159,985 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of MCO
Time of day matters more at MCO than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. arrived on time 92% of the time; at 9 p.m. it was 56%, a 36-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 90% on time against 59% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 9 p.m. departures were cancelled 3.6% of the time, against 1.8% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at MCO was a 6 a.m. departure in November (94% on time); the least, 7 p.m. in July (43%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
July is the hardest month at MCO, with 65% of flights on time across 2023–2026; November is the best at 82%. Summer (June–August) runs 13 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Winter costs 5 points against autumn. Cancellations peak in January (2.8% of flights).
Airlines at MCO
Southwest Airlines runs 32% of departures from MCO. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, United Airlines was the most reliable (80% on time) and Spirit Airlines the least (67%), a 13-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 51,275 | 72% | 67% | 1.1% | −1 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 22,020 | 76% | 76% | 1.9% | −8 min |
| American Airlines | 19,654 | 73% | 73% | 2.0% | −6 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 19,073 | 75% | 76% | 1.7% | −9 min |
| JetBlue | 18,799 | 69% | 72% | 2.7% | −2 min |
| United Airlines | 15,054 | 80% | 82% | 1.1% | −10 min |
| Spirit Airlines | 11,307 | 67% | 68% | 4.3% | −3 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,396 | 77% | 77% | 0.6% | −7 min |
| Allegiant Air | 407 | 67% | 70% | 1.7% | −1 min |
Why flights are late at MCO
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At MCO, 43% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the airlines themselves at 28%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 2,892 cancellations, 55% were blamed on weather.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 20 minutes, longer than at most large U.S. airports. Airlines pad schedules for it, but a long queue on a busy afternoon still eats into the buffer.
MCO vs nearby airports
MCO isn't the only option in Orlando. Over the past year SFB ran 70% on time with 0.7% of flights cancelled, against 73% and 1.8% at MCO. On-time rates are close, but SFB cancels noticeably fewer flights, which counts most when a missed day matters.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCO Orlando | — | 159,985 | 73% | 1.8% |
| SFB Orlando Sanford | 24 mi | 10,104 | 70% | 0.7% |
| MLB Melbourne Orlando | 47 mi | 2,871 | 82% | 2.1% |
| DAB Daytona Beach | 54 mi | 3,402 | 81% | 2.5% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 73% of MCO departures were on time, against 76% in the 12 months before, a decline of 3 points. The best recent month was September 2025 (84%); the worst, July 2026 (66%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Sunday, Jan 25, 2026, when 45% of 467 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 25, 2026 | 467 | 45% | 35% |
| Mar 16, 2026 | 510 | 44% | 13% |
| Mar 15, 2026 | 515 | 34% | 41% |
| Feb 23, 2026 | 500 | 23% | 65% |
| Aug 6, 2026 | 407 | 17% | 43% |
| Jan 26, 2026 | 438 | 17% | 46% |
| Jan 24, 2026 | 461 | 16% | 68% |
| Feb 22, 2026 | 517 | 14% | 46% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 466 | 11% | 24% |
| Jan 27, 2026 | 384 | 11% | 60% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from MCO, each airline's final departure was cancelled 2.4% of the time, against 1.6% for its earlier flights (1.4× as often). Late in the day crews run short on duty hours, aircraft arrive late from elsewhere, and with no later flight to fold passengers into, cancelling is easier for the airline. 2.3% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Frontier Airlines to Baltimore (6.6% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BWI Baltimore | Frontier Airlines | 7:94 p.m. | 6.6% | 4.9% | 58% |
| LGA New York | American Airlines | 6:38 p.m. | 4.1% | 6.4% | 45% |
| EWR Newark | Spirit Airlines | — | 8.7% | 1.7% | 57% |
| ATL Atlanta | Spirit Airlines | — | 6.8% | 3.0% | 56% |
| LGA New York | Spirit Airlines | — | 7.6% | 2.1% | 50% |
| CLT Charlotte | Spirit Airlines | — | 8.3% | 0.8% | 58% |
| PHL Philadelphia | Spirit Airlines | — | 7.3% | 1.7% | 53% |
| ACY Atlantic City | Spirit Airlines | — | 7.9% | 1.1% | 63% |
| DCA Washington | JetBlue | 5:34 p.m. | 2.5% | 6.4% | 52% |
| BUF Buffalo | JetBlue | 5:52 p.m. | 1.7% | 7.2% | 44% |
| EWR Newark | JetBlue | 5:00 p.m. | 3.3% | 5.5% | 54% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 7:18 p.m. | 6.0% | 2.7% | 46% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
MCO at the holidays
On the busy Thanksgiving travel days, flights from MCO arrived on time 76% of the time, against 83% normally (−7.5 points; 17th of the 30 busiest airports). On the busy Christmas–New Year travel days, flights from MCO arrived on time 66% of the time, against 77% normally (−11.4 points; 27th of the 30 busiest airports).
Thanksgiving: best days to fly → · Christmas: best days to fly →
Tips for flying out of MCO
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At MCO the 6 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in July? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? United Airlines has the better record here.
- Need to arrive tonight? Don't book the last flight out of MCO; the one before it leaves you a backup.
- Connecting here? See how long a layover you need at MCO.
- Delayed already? Most delays at MCO come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Delayed at MCO right now? See how much later MCO delays usually get, and what to do →
Routes from MCO
Where you're going matters too. From MCO, the most reliable busy route was to Houston (IAH, 83% on time) and the least reliable to New York (LGA, 64%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSW Fort Myers | 613 | 60% | 0.7% | +7 min |
| ACY Atlantic City | 429 | 64% | 7.0% | −2 min |
| LGA New York | 5,149 | 64% | 4.3% | −2 min |
| ROC Rochester | 505 | 65% | 1.6% | +3 min |
| BUF Buffalo | 1,811 | 65% | 1.6% | +2 min |
| HPN White Plains | 1,184 | 66% | 2.5% | −0 min |
| RIC Richmond | 1,189 | 68% | 2.3% | 0 min |
| ALB Albany | 1,024 | 68% | 1.3% | +2 min |
| DCA Washington | 4,592 | 68% | 2.4% | −2 min |
| MDW Chicago | 2,723 | 68% | 1.8% | +2 min |
| BOS Boston | 4,614 | 69% | 3.2% | −4 min |
| FLL Fort Lauderdale | 1,453 | 69% | 1.2% | −2 min |
| ORF Norfolk | 791 | 69% | 3.5% | −1 min |
| BDL Hartford | 1,867 | 69% | 2.1% | 0 min |
| ORD Chicago | 6,224 | 69% | 1.8% | −2 min |
| PBI West Palm Beach | 553 | 69% | 0.5% | −3 min |
| PHL Philadelphia | 5,333 | 69% | 2.5% | −3 min |
| BHM Birmingham | 861 | 70% | 0.8% | 0 min |
| MCI Kansas City | 1,558 | 70% | 1.5% | −1 min |
| MKE Milwaukee | 1,431 | 71% | 1.2% | −1 min |
| TTN Trenton | 542 | 71% | 3.3% | −7 min |
| CMH Columbus | 2,122 | 71% | 1.5% | −3 min |
| MEM Memphis | 713 | 71% | 2.7% | −2 min |
| DAL Dallas | 2,643 | 71% | 1.8% | −2 min |
| PVD Providence | 1,581 | 71% | 1.9% | −1 min |
| BNA Nashville | 3,550 | 72% | 1.9% | −1 min |
| JFK New York | 4,813 | 72% | 3.7% | −5 min |
| DTW Detroit | 3,594 | 72% | 1.1% | −3 min |
| EWR Newark | 6,389 | 72% | 3.3% | −7 min |
| DFW Dallas | 4,892 | 72% | 2.6% | −7 min |
| SDF Louisville | 865 | 73% | 2.2% | −2 min |
| OMA Omaha | 373 | 73% | 1.3% | 0 min |
| SRQ Sarasota | 612 | 73% | 0.5% | −3 min |
| SJU San Juan | 6,141 | 73% | 1.1% | −1 min |
| CVG Cincinnati | 1,832 | 73% | 1.6% | −5 min |
| PDX Portland | 390 | 73% | 0.0% | −5 min |
| MSY New Orleans | 2,254 | 73% | 1.1% | −4 min |
| IND Indianapolis | 2,453 | 74% | 1.4% | −2 min |
| ATL Atlanta | 8,259 | 74% | 1.7% | −7 min |
| PIT Pittsburgh | 2,234 | 74% | 1.4% | −4 min |
| SAT San Antonio | 1,075 | 74% | 1.7% | −6 min |
| MIA Miami | 3,700 | 74% | 1.2% | −6 min |
| BWI Baltimore | 4,716 | 74% | 2.4% | −4 min |
| BQN Aguadilla | 1,018 | 74% | 1.9% | −4 min |
| HOU Houston | 2,056 | 75% | 1.1% | −3 min |
| ISP Islip | 1,441 | 75% | 1.7% | −4 min |
| RDU Raleigh | 2,695 | 75% | 1.8% | −7 min |
| AUS Austin | 2,848 | 76% | 1.2% | −6 min |
| STL St. Louis | 2,504 | 76% | 0.8% | −5 min |
| CLE Cleveland | 2,123 | 76% | 1.1% | −7 min |
| SAN San Diego | 1,086 | 76% | 0.6% | −7 min |
| STT Charlotte Amalie | 368 | 76% | 1.1% | −2 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,820 | 76% | 1.0% | −4 min |
| SYR Syracuse | 670 | 77% | 1.3% | −7 min |
| MSP Minneapolis | 1,943 | 77% | 1.4% | −6 min |
| MHT Manchester | 804 | 77% | 0.6% | −4 min |
| CLT Charlotte | 4,735 | 77% | 1.9% | −9 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,844 | 78% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| GRR Grand Rapids | 393 | 79% | 0.5% | −6 min |
| SFO San Francisco | 1,378 | 79% | 0.4% | −9 min |
| DEN Denver | 4,523 | 80% | 0.6% | −8 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,955 | 81% | 0.4% | −10 min |
| LAX Los Angeles | 3,517 | 81% | 0.7% | −9 min |
| IAD Washington | 2,181 | 81% | 1.1% | −9 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,483 | 82% | 0.7% | −8 min |
| PSE Ponce | 622 | 82% | 1.1% | −8 min |
| IAH Houston | 3,569 | 83% | 1.0% | −15 min |
Flights into MCO
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Orlando, least reliable first. The weakest is from Rochester (61% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| ROC Rochester | 506 | 61% | 1.6% |
| DFW Dallas | 4,892 | 62% | 2.6% |
| LGA New York | 5,149 | 66% | 4.7% |
| BOS Boston | 4,605 | 67% | 3.2% |
| DAL Dallas | 2,653 | 69% | 1.6% |
| ATL Atlanta | 8,267 | 69% | 1.6% |
| CLT Charlotte | 4,734 | 70% | 2.3% |
| RIC Richmond | 1,190 | 70% | 2.3% |
| PHL Philadelphia | 5,338 | 70% | 2.7% |
| JFK New York | 4,804 | 71% | 3.8% |
| SYR Syracuse | 669 | 71% | 1.5% |
| STT Charlotte Amalie | 368 | 71% | 1.9% |
| AUS Austin | 2,848 | 71% | 1.4% |
| ORD Chicago | 6,220 | 71% | 1.6% |
| BDL Hartford | 1,869 | 71% | 2.0% |
| HPN White Plains | 1,184 | 72% | 2.8% |
| BNA Nashville | 3,528 | 72% | 1.6% |
| ISP Islip | 1,442 | 72% | 1.9% |
| MIA Miami | 3,700 | 72% | 1.1% |
| DCA Washington | 4,593 | 73% | 2.6% |
| PHX Phoenix | 1,857 | 73% | 0.7% |
| BWI Baltimore | 4,707 | 73% | 2.6% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 1,999 | 73% | 0.5% |
| MDW Chicago | 2,707 | 74% | 1.6% |
| BUF Buffalo | 1,813 | 74% | 1.8% |
Showing the 25 least reliable of 67 routes into MCO.
Questions about MCO delays
What is the best time to fly out of MCO?
Flights scheduled at 6 a.m.: over the past year 92% of MCO departures at that hour arrived on time, against 56% at 9 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at MCO?
July (65% on time). November is the best month (82%).
Which airline is most on time at MCO?
United Airlines: 80% of its MCO departures arrived on time over the past year. Spirit Airlines had the weakest record at 67%.
Why are flights delayed at MCO?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (43% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the airlines themselves (28%).
Is MCO or SFB more reliable?
Over the past year: MCO 73% on time, SFB 70%.
How often are flights cancelled at MCO?
1.8% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in January at 2.8%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.