Airport month record
LAXMAY
Los Angeles International in May 2026
- Departures
- 16,317
- Month
- May 2026
- National, same month
- 78.6%
- Carriers
- 8
Historical statistics for May 2026, not live status or a forecast for this year’s May. For today’s conditions at LAX, see live FAA status.
LAX in May lands a B+, about a point better than the national rate of 78.6%. About one flight in five arrives 15 minutes late or worse, and those flights are late by about an hour on average. That rests on 16,317 flights, of which SkyWest Airlines flew 3,237 at 86.1% on time.
SkyWest Airlines is the most reliable of the eight carriers covered here at 86.1% on time across 3,237 flights.
Key figures
On time
80.0%
Arrivals under 15 minutes late, of 16,187 completed departures
Avg delay
64 min
Across delayed arrivals only, not all flights
Cancelled
0.54%
Nationally in May: 0.92%
Whole year
79.5%
LAX across all twelve months
These figures cover 16,317 departures from Los Angeles International in May 2026. On time means an arrival less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time, the DOT's threshold, and the national comparison uses every US departure in the same month rather than the whole year.
Against the year
May next to LAX's other months
Against LAX's own year, May ran level with the twelve-month rate of 79.5%, which makes it number six of twelve months, best first. Cancellations were unusually low for LAX in May, at 0.54% against 0.97% across the year. Either side of it, April ran 81.5% on time and June 77.0%, so this month sits in line with its neighbours.
| Month | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 15,262 | 85.8% | 66 min | 0.28% | A+ |
| October 2025 | 16,122 | 83.5% | 70 min | 0.31% | B+ |
| November 2025 | 15,422 | 79.7% | 67 min | 1.78% | B |
| December 2025 | 16,050 | 77.7% | 71 min | 0.88% | B+ |
| January 2026 | 14,815 | 81.2% | 76 min | 2.17% | B |
| February 2026 | 13,687 | 80.9% | 69 min | 1.42% | B |
| March 2026 | 16,088 | 77.7% | 65 min | 1.29% | B |
| April 2026 | 15,732 | 81.5% | 62 min | 0.44% | B+ |
| May 2026 (this page) | 16,317 | 80.0% | 64 min | 0.54% | B+ |
| June 2026 | 16,664 | 77.0% | 69 min | 0.61% | B+ |
| July 2026 | 17,454 | 73.7% | 67 min | 1.20% | C |
| August 2026 | 16,494 | 76.9% | 62 min | 0.81% | B+ |
Departure window
The best time of day to leave LAX in May
Departure time matters more here than the choice of carrier. The gap between the best and worst window is 18 points, against 20 points between the best and worst carrier.
- 5am–8am1,982 flights92.0%
- 8am–11am4,205 flights82.3%
- 11am–2pm2,473 flights75.6%
- 2pm–5pm2,231 flights77.7%
- 5pm–8pm2,326 flights74.2%
- 8pm–5am3,100 flights78.9%
Scale runs 65% to 95%.
Book the early departure. Flights leaving between 5am–8am arrive on time 92.0% of the time, against 74.2% for the evening window. That is 18 points of difference for no extra money, and it comes from the same aircraft having had no earlier flight to fall behind on. The 8am–11am window is the busiest, with 4,205 flights scheduled in it.
Across the week, Saturday is the strongest day at 84.3% on time and Monday the weakest at 75.4%, a spread of 9 points.
Carrier by carrier
Which airlines ran best at LAX in May
The choice of carrier is not cosmetic here. SkyWest Airlines arrives on time 86.1% of the time; Southwest Airlines manages 66.3%. Sample sizes sit next to every figure, because a two-point gap across 2,190 flights means less than a ten-point one.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 3,378 | 80.2% | 67 min | 1.33% | B |
| SkyWest Airlines | 3,237 | 86.1% | 60 min | 0.12% | A+ |
| United Airlines | 2,725 | 85.6% | 62 min | 0.07% | A+ |
| American Airlines | 2,665 | 78.4% | 89 min | 0.75% | B+ |
| Southwest Airlines | 2,190 | 66.3% | 48 min | 0.27% | C+ |
| Alaska Airlines | 1,028 | 78.1% | 54 min | 0.58% | B+ |
| JetBlue Airways | 574 | 85.3% | 53 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| Frontier Airlines | 513 | 75.8% | 75 min | 0.19% | B+ |
The spread between SkyWest and Southwest is 20 points, wide enough that it should decide the booking. On a hundred trips that is 20 more arrivals inside the on-time window.
Route by route
Busiest routes out of LAX in May
| Route | Flights | On time | Avg delay | Cancelled | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAX to SFO · San Francisco | 1,028 | 44.1% | 57 min | 1.36% | F |
| LAX to JFK · New York | 870 | 83.9% | 99 min | 0.92% | B+ |
| LAX to DEN · Denver | 687 | 83.8% | 65 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to SEA · Seattle | 679 | 85.9% | 47 min | 0.44% | A+ |
| LAX to LAS · Las Vegas | 649 | 73.1% | 76 min | 0.31% | C+ |
| LAX to PHX · Phoenix | 643 | 81.2% | 60 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to ORD · Chicago | 601 | 77.7% | 87 min | 0.67% | B+ |
| LAX to DFW · Dallas-Fort Worth | 529 | 80.7% | 102 min | 3.02% | B− |
| LAX to SMF · Sacramento | 525 | 82.5% | 54 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to HNL · Honolulu | 505 | 80.4% | 59 min | 0.59% | B+ |
| LAX to ATL · Atlanta | 427 | 78.1% | 63 min | 0.70% | B+ |
| LAX to IAH · Houston | 422 | 87.4% | 65 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to BOS · Boston | 400 | 82.8% | 75 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to SJC · San Jose | 382 | 80.7% | 42 min | 0.79% | B+ |
| LAX to AUS · Austin | 381 | 71.1% | 78 min | 0.79% | C+ |
| LAX to PDX · Portland | 379 | 91.3% | 63 min | 0.26% | A+ |
| LAX to EWR · Newarkthin sample | 339 | 90.2% | 83 min | 0.29% | A+ |
| LAX to SLC · Salt Lake Citythin sample | 328 | 91.1% | 63 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to MCO · Orlandothin sample | 317 | 79.0% | 44 min | 0.32% | B+ |
| LAX to MIA · Miamithin sample | 302 | 85.0% | 63 min | 0.66% | A+ |
| LAX to IAD · Washingtonthin sample | 252 | 90.8% | 50 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to TUS · Tucsonthin sample | 234 | 82.1% | 64 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to PHL · Philadelphiathin sample | 224 | 84.3% | 68 min | 0.00% | B+ |
| LAX to SAN · San Diegothin sample | 224 | 87.1% | 42 min | 0.00% | A+ |
| LAX to OGG · Kahuluithin sample | 218 | 89.0% | 47 min | 0.00% | A+ |
Delay causes
What held LAX up in May
Carriers report a reason for every delay minute they cause, in five DOT categories. The split below is by minutes, not by number of flights, so a handful of very long weather delays weighs as much as many short ones. It covers 207,000 reported delay minutes.
- 40%Late-arriving aircraft
- 36%Carrier
- 23%National Airspace System
- 1%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
40% of delay minutes trace back to a late-arriving aircraft, meaning the plane was already behind before it got here. Across 207,000 reported delay minutes here, that single category outweighs weather by 28 to one. The split is drawn from 207,083 reported delay minutes.
Cancellations are rare at 0.54%, below the national 0.92% and low enough to earn the plus on the grade. Roughly one flight in 100 is called off; the risk here is arriving late, not not arriving.
6.5% of arrivals land an hour or more late, close to the national 7.1%, so a 60 to 75 minute layover is reasonable here while anything under 45 minutes is a bet. Most delays on this route last about an hour, which a normal layover absorbs.
What to do with this
Flying from LAX in May
For a May trip through LAX: expect 80.0% on time and 0.54% cancelled, going by May 2026. The 5am–8am window was the strongest part of the day.
Related
Where to go next
- Los Angeles International (LAX), the whole year
- LAX in September85.8%
- LAX in October83.5%
- LAX in November79.7%
- LAX in December77.7%
- LAX in January81.2%
- LAX in February80.9%
- LAX in March77.7%
- LAX in April81.5%
- LAX in June77.0%
- LAX in July73.7%
- LAX in August76.9%
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, September 2025 to August 2026. Last updated ; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.