According to PlainFlights' airport traffic ranking (BTS On-Time Performance total flights), New Orleans, LA (MSY) ranks #39 of 382 tracked US airports by total flights (most flights = #1). New Orleans, LA posts bottom-quartile on-time performance among the 382 tracked U.S. airports, as a high-volume U.S. airport.
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MSY on-time rate vs. the national average
Ahead of the U.S. average across all 382 tracked airports.
Delay Cause Breakdown
Top delay cause: Late Aircraft.
Total delay minutes: 3,544,259.
Late Aircraft47.3% (1,676,223 min)
Carrier28.7% (1,016,766 min)
NAS (National Aviation System)19.2% (682,261 min)
Weather4.6% (162,463 min)
Security0.2% (6,546 min)
MSY - seasonal on-time pattern
Best: September (92.8%) · worst: July (86.2%)
MSY - on-time rate by year
2020–2025, year-over-year trend.
MSY - taxi-out and taxi-in (monthly)
Average taxi-out 13.1 min · taxi-in 5.4 min over the last 24 reported months (U.S. airport mean taxi-out ≈ 16.4 min).
MSY's average taxi-out (13.1 min) stays shorter than the recent U.S. airport mean (~16.4 min). Even the heaviest month (February 2025, 14.0 min) is milder than many hubs' typical book.
Two PlainFlights-derived comparison paths for New Orleans, 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 New Orleans, LA is the delay mix: Late Aircraft owns 47.3% of 3,544,259 delay minutes across 539,385 BTS flights. The on-time headline is 79.9% (0.9 pts above the 79% national average), with 108,300 delayed and 8,156 cancelled (1.51%).
Delay minutes concentrate in Late Aircraft (47.3% late-aircraft, 28.7% carrier, 19.2% NAS, 4.6% weather, 0.2% security). As a busy airport, that mix matters more for connection planning than for a thin schedule.
On the multi-year calendar, MSY is strongest in September (92.8% on-time) and weakest in July (86.2%), a 6.6-point swing. Volume peaks in March (~8,660 flights/month). The busiest connecting route is to ATL (Atlanta) at 85.3% on-time. Field definitions: on-time performance explained.
New Orleans, LA vs. the national on-time distribution
On-time rate among all 382 tracked U.S. airports
79.9%Top 84%higher than 16% of 382 airports
New Orleans, 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.
MSY's on-time book sits in the slower half of the BTS set; check the delay mix and the worst month before treating the headline as typical.
Check the busiest route from MSY before you book a connection. See top routes →
Travel in September rather than July if your dates are flexible. Seasonal patterns →
Gate-to-wheels taxi-out averages 13.1 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 New Orleans, LA's on-time rate?
New Orleans, LA (MSY) has a 79.9% on-time rate across 539,385 BTS-tracked flights (2020-2025), 0.9 pts above the 79% national flight-weighted average; that places it in roughly the bottom-quartile on-time performance.
How does MSY rank among U.S. airports by traffic volume?
New Orleans, LA ranks #39 of 382 tracked US airports by total BTS flights (most flights = #1), making it a high-volume U.S. airport.
What's the most common cause of delays at New Orleans, LA?
Late Aircraft is the leading delay cause at MSY, accounting for 47.3% of delay minutes. The full breakdown: 47.3% late-aircraft, 28.7% carrier, 19.2% NAS/air-traffic-control, 4.6% weather, and 0.2% security.
When is the best time to fly through New Orleans, LA?
September is historically MSY's strongest month at 92.8% on-time, while July is the weakest at 86.2%, a 6.6-point swing across the BTS historical record.
Data sourced from U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) On-Time Performance data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainFlights