How reliable is Los Angeles International Airport?
Flights from LAX departed within 15 minutes of schedule in 82% of 1,164,161 flights in official BTS history — and weather is calmest in May. Here’s the full picture before you book.
Reliability score
on-time, cancellations & delays
Weather favorability
year-round climate
Origin-airport operations
What the departure punctuality at LAX looks like
On-time departures
across 1,164,161 flights
Source: BTS Airport Operations · data through 2026-08-08. Role-specific BTS departure history; advisory context, not a guarantee for any flight.
Weather by month
When the weather works for you at Los Angeles
A calm-weather score (0–100) for each month from decades of airport observations — how often conditions disrupt flying, not temperature. Higher is calmer.
Calmest month
Calmest flying weather of the year · 95/100 favorability
Roughest month
Most disruptive — low visibility & fog, thunderstorms · 85/100 favorability
Connecting through LAX
How much layover you really need
Based on 43 sellable domestic itineraries seen through Google Flights. Median observed layover: 175 min.
International transfers add immigration and bag recheck — give yourself this buffer at LAX or more.
Observed windows come from normalized SearchAPI / Google Flights itineraries. They are not official airport MCTs. We score every connecting itinerary against conservative connection floors.
The read on LAX
What the numbers say about flying through Los Angeles International Airport
Across official performance history, flights from Los Angeles left within 15 minutes of schedule about 82% of the time over 1,164,161 flights. That's a solid, better-than-average operational record. Pair it with a low cancellation rate of 1.0%, so flights here rarely vanish outright. When a departure does run late, the typical delay is around 10 minutes.
On weather, Los Angeles is an unusually calm-weather airport year-round. May is the calmest stretch for flying, scoring 95 out of 100 for favorable conditions, while October is the most disruptive at 85, driven mainly by low visibility & fog and thunderstorms. The year is relatively steady, so no single month stands out as one to avoid on weather alone.
If you're connecting through LAX, give yourself room. Real itineraries sold through LAX bottom out around 45 minutes for a domestic connection, and international transfer wants roughly 100 minutes once immigration and a bag recheck are in the mix. Those are floors, not comfortable buffers — one inbound delay can erase them, so add margin when the connection matters.
None of this guarantees your specific flight — it’s the backdrop. To turn it into a booking, score real flights to Los Angeles, read how we weigh it all in how the PlaneSane Score works, and brush up with how to pick a reliable flight and avoiding weather delays.
Common questions about LAX
- How reliable is Los Angeles International Airport (LAX)?
- Flights from Los Angeles left within 15 minutes of schedule roughly 82% of the time across 1,164,161 flights of official history — a solid, better-than-average operational record. The cancellation rate runs about 1.0%. It's advisory context, not a guarantee for any single flight.
- What is the best month to fly from LAX for good weather?
- May has the calmest flying weather at Los Angeles International Airport. October is the most disruptive, mainly from low visibility & fog and thunderstorms.
- How much layover time do you need at LAX?
- Allow at least about 45 minutes for a domestic connection and about 100 minutes for an international one as a floor. These are minimums, not comfortable buffers — a single inbound delay can wipe them out, so add margin when you can.
Reliability guides
Planning a trip through Los Angeles?
Score real flights to and from LAX on reliability, weather, and connection safety — not just price.