Lake Charles, LA

What the Data Says About LCH

Lake Charles, LA in Lake Charles, Louisiana handled 13,543 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 86.1% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 1,879 experienced delays, 318 were cancelled, and 12 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 2.35%, the diversion rate to 0.09%, and the average delay when departures run late is 100.7 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing LCH against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at LCH, Carrier leads the pack. Carrier accounts for 44.9% of total delay minutes, followed by Weather at 21.8% and Late Aircraft at 19.9%. Weather contributes 21.8% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.0%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, January runs the cleanest at LCH with a 95.4% on-time rate, while May is the roughest at 91.4% — a 4-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 216. The busiest route from LCH is to LCH (Lake Charles), with 5,955 flights at a 85.4% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 86.1% on-time, 100.7-minute average delay, 2.35% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Lake Charles, LA.