According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), Lafayette, LA (LFT) ranks #169 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). Lafayette, LA posts below-median on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a mid-size U.S. airport.
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LFT on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Volume vs. on-time rate
Where Lafayette, LA sits on volume vs. on-time rate
Among the 382 U.S. airports in the BTS corpus, Lafayette, LA handles more flight
volume than 56% of them, and has a higher on-time rate than
48% of them, placing it in the quadrant for busy and delay-prone.
Flight volume and on-time rate are independent figures: a busy airport can still run
reliably, and a quiet one can still run late.
Lafayette, LA vs. a 29-airport national peer sample, volume percentile vs. on-time-rate percentile.
Total flights (2020-2025): 37,254 ·
On-time rate: 83.2%
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Carrier.
Total delay minutes295,362 min
Carrier107,468 min · 36%
Late Aircraft98,878 min · 33%
Weather53,602 min · 18%
NAS (National Aviation System)34,485 min · 12%
Security929 min · 0%
Source: U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, On-Time Performance
LFT - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (93.7%) · worst: June (89.6%)
LFT - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
LFT - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 17.7 min · taxi-in 5.5 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
LFT's average taxi-out (17.7 min) sits near the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Month-to-month, it swings from 16.0 min (September 2025) to 21.7 min (December 2025).
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for Lafayette, LA, both outside Louisiana so the neighborhoods are not same-state geography. Axes stay disjoint: volume peers exclude the on-time peer set. Same-state compare stays below.
The standout signal at Lafayette, LA is the delay mix: Carrier owns 36.4% of 295,362 delay minutes across 37,254 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 83.2% (4.2 pts above the 79% national average), with 6,242 delayed and 512 cancelled (1.37%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Carrier (33.5% late-aircraft, 36.4% carrier, 11.7% NAS, 18.1% weather, 0.3% security). Mid-volume books still show a clear delay fingerprint rather than a weather-only story.
On the multi-year calendar, LFT is strongest in September (93.7% on-time) and weakest in June (89.6%), a 4.1-point swing. Volume peaks in July (~569 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to DFW (Dallas/Fort Worth) at 80.2% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
Lafayette, LA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
83.2%Top 52%higher than 48% of 382 airports
Lafayette, LA
60%95%
U.S. airports by on-time rate, bucketed by value
Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more airports. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count and share, and where it sits relative to this entry.
Data Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), On-Time Performance Data (2020–2025).
Statistics reflect cumulative performance across all available reporting periods. On-time rates exclude cancelled and diverted flights.
LFT's on-time book is mid-pack; month and delay-cause mix move more than the headline rate.
Check the busiest route from LFT before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than June if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 17.7 min here; check the monthly series before a tight connection. Taxi times →
On-time rate reflects the BTS historical average across all reporting carriers at this airport, not any single flight or airline.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Lafayette, LA's on-time rate?
Lafayette, LA (LFT) has a 83.2% on-time rate across 37,254 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 4.2 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the below-median on-time performance.
How does LFT rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
Lafayette, LA ranks #169 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a mid-size U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at Lafayette, LA?
Carrier is the leading delay cause at LFT, accounting for 36.4% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 33.5% late-aircraft, 36.4% carrier, 11.7% NAS/air-traffic-control, 18.1% weather, and 0.3% security.
When is the best time to fly through Lafayette, LA?
September is historically LFT's strongest month at 93.7% on-time, while June is the weakest at 89.6%, a 4.1-point swing across the BTS historical record.