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Index Desk · Airport reliability

Los Angeles LAX: On-Time Departures

By The Sales Traveler Data Desk · · 3 min read

How reliable is Los Angeles's LAX for departures? The on-time and cancellation numbers it actually delivered last month, from U.S. government flight data.

Direct answer: In June 2026, 75% of flights departed Los Angeles's LAX on time (within 15 minutes of schedule) and 0.61% were cancelled, across 16,664 scheduled departures — ranking #10 of 30 major US airports on on-time departures. Computed by The Sales Traveler from U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics flight-level data. On-time departure rate is the number that decides whether a delay at LAX is a coincidence or a pattern.
Airport
Los Angeles (LAX)
Month
June 2026
On-time departures
75% (within 15 min)
Cancellation rate
0.61%
Rank (on-time dep.)
#10 of 30 major US airports
Scheduled departures
16,664

Are there delays at LAX today?

Los Angeles LAX ran 75% of departures on time in June 2026, ranking 10 of 30 major US airports, with 0.61% of flights cancelled, across 16,664 flights (U.S. DOT). Live FAA delay programs for today load below.

Source: FAA Airport Status, polled live. What this does and does not tell you: the FAA feed reports air-traffic management programs — ground stops, ground delays and closures issued for an airport. It does not list individual flights. So "no program in effect" means the FAA is not currently metering traffic into Los Angeles; individual flights can still be late for weather, crew or aircraft reasons that never appear in this feed. For how often LAX runs late over a full month, the U.S. DOT figures below are the better measure.

What LAX actually delivered

In June 2026, 75% of the 16,664 flights scheduled to depart Los Angeles's LAX pushed back within 15 minutes of schedule, and 0.61% were cancelled — putting LAX at the more reliable end of the major US airports that month (#10 of 30 major US airports). These figures are computed by The Sales Traveler from the raw U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics on-time dataset. On-time departure = flights that pushed back within 15 minutes of schedule (DepDel15=0), as a share of non-cancelled departures from the airport. Cancellation rate = cancelled flights divided by scheduled departures. Major US airports only (at least 6,000 scheduled departures in the month). Computed by The Sales Traveler from the raw BTS on-time dataset for the month.

What that means for a business trip through LAX

Departing on time is the number that decides whether you make a connection or a same-day return. LAX's standing here is a point in its favor, a morning departure has better-than-average odds of leaving on schedule. Departure reliability shifts month to month with weather and operations, so this updates as new DOT data publishes. For live conditions, see the flight-delay tracker.

Which airline you fly still matters

Airport reliability sets the baseline; the carrier you book moves it. The same departure bank can run smoothly for one airline and poorly for another. Cross-reference this with the airline reliability scorecards — on-time and cancellation rates for every major US carrier, computed from the same U.S. DOT record, before you book a schedule-critical trip through LAX.

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Delivered figures computed by The Sales Traveler from the U.S. DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance dataset for June 2026 (https://transtats.bts.gov/PREZIP/On_Time_Reporting_Carrier_On_Time_Performance_1987_present_2026_6.zip), aggregated by origin airport. Independent and reader-funded — a partnership buys reach, never a rating.
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