Orlando, FL

What the Data Says About MCO

Orlando, FL in Orlando, Florida handled 1,718,833 flights in the Bureau of Transportation Statistics dataset between 2020 and 2025, posting a 76.7% on-time departure rate. Of those flights, 400,272 experienced delays, 19,434 were cancelled, and 1,961 were diverted. The cancellation rate works out to 1.13%, the diversion rate to 0.11%, and the average delay when departures run late is 75.2 minutes. These figures are the baseline for comparing MCO against other airports in the same state and nationally.

Breaking down what drives delays at MCO, Late Aircraft leads the pack. Late Aircraft accounts for 38.8% of total delay minutes, followed by Carrier at 31.7% and NAS (National Aviation System) at 22.1%. Weather contributes 7.0% of delay minutes at this airport, while security holds the smallest share at 0.4%. Travelers often overestimate the weather share; the BTS categorization shows late-arriving aircraft and carrier operations as the larger contributors.

Seasonally, October runs the cleanest at MCO with a 91% on-time rate, while July is the roughest at 83.4% — a 8-point swing between best and worst month. Volume peaks in March, when average flights hit 27,728. The busiest route from MCO is to ATL (Atlanta), with 47,291 flights at a 78.1% on-time rate. Combine these numbers — 76.7% on-time, 75.2-minute average delay, 1.13% cancellation rate — and you have a concrete picture of departure reliability at Orlando, FL.