Best time to fly out of Lafayette (LFT)
The early-flight folk wisdom holds up at Lafayette: departures in the Before 6am band left on time 91% of the time, against 69.2% in the 4–6pm band. These are historical odds, not forecasts. The records say what happened on this schedule over three years; they know nothing about tomorrow’s thunderstorm.
Data through June 2026 · Bureau of Transportation Statistics
On-time rate by hour and day
On this page, “on time” means a departure that pushed back less than 15 minutes behind its scheduled time — the Bureau of Transportation Statistics definition, and the one airlines are held to.
| Departure time | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before 6am | 92 | 88 | 88 | 89 | 93 | 91 | 96 |
| 6–8am | 91 | 91 | 90 | 88 | 88 | 91 | 86 |
| 8–10am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10am–12pm | 81 | 82 | 82 | 79 | 83 | 79 | 81 |
| 12–2pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 2–4pm | 78 | 78 | 81 | 69 | 69 | 81 | 73 |
| 4–6pm | 72 | 68 | 73 | 68 | 70 | 68 | 66 |
| 6–8pm | 70 | 88 | 75 | 75 | 73 | – | 72 |
| 8–10pm | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| 10pm–12am | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
The steadiest stretch at LFT was Before 6am — 91% of departures left on time across 1,173 flights. The weakest was 4–6pm at 69.2%. 6–8am departures from LFT left on time 89.4% of the time across 1,661 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 667. That is a gap of 14.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
The year at LFT
May was the hard month at LFT: 74.8% of departures left on time, across 770 flights. October was the easy one at 87.2%. Each month pools three years of that month, so a single bad week does not decide it.
| Month | Share departures that left on time | Flights |
|---|---|---|
| January | 79.1% | 653 |
| February | 81.8% | 532 |
| March | 79.8% | 748 |
| April | 81.2% | 632 |
| May | 74.8% | 770 |
| June | 75.3% | 682 |
| July | 76.8% | 835 |
| August | 82.9% | 805 |
| September | 85% | 748 |
| October | 87.2% | 804 |
| November | 82.9% | 755 |
| December | 80.9% | 737 |
Airlines at LFT
Every airline with at least 100 departures from LFT, busiest first. These are that airline’s departures from this airport only — its record across the country sits on its own page.
| Airline | Left on time | Typical delay | Cancelled | Departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PSA Airlines | 76.2% | 115 min | 3.9% | 3,160 |
| SkyWest Airlines | 81.7% | 108 min | 2.3% | 2,873 |
| Envoy Air | 81.9% | 77 min | 2% | 1,515 |
| Endeavor Air | 88.6% | 109 min | 1% | 1,152 |
What delays out of LFT were put down to
Airlines file a reason with every arrival running 15 minutes late or more. Across 1,701 flights that departed LFT and ran 15 minutes late or more, the delay minutes break down with 36.1% put down to airline operations and 35.4% to late-arriving aircraft.
- Late-arriving aircraft 35.4%
- Airline operations 36.1%
- Air traffic & airport volume 10.5%
- Severe weather 17.8%
- Security 0.2%
Late-arriving aircraft is the knock-on category: the plane came in late, so it went out late again. It is why a 7am problem in Newark is still a problem in Denver at dinnertime, and why it is usually the biggest slice on the bar.
If you are connecting through LFT
Of 8,700 scheduled arrivals into LFT, 75.6% reached the gate less than 15 minutes behind schedule. Of the 1,890 arrivals that ran late, 48.1% were no more than 45 minutes behind — which is the difference between a tight connection and a new boarding pass.
Work out a specific layover — pick the airport and the minutes you have, and the tool reads the same arrival records back as a share.
Busiest routes out of LFT
Ranked by flights, with the share that arrived on time at the far end. Where a route carries enough flights for a page of its own the chip goes there; otherwise it goes to the destination airport.
LFT in one number
Lafayette (LFT)
Rank 172 of 363 US airports by departures. Steadiest stretch of the day: Before 6am. Hardest month: May.
Questions about LFT
- What is the best time of day to fly out of Lafayette?
- Before 6am. Departures in that band left on time 91% of the time across 1,173 flights, July 2023 through June 2026 — the best of the ten bands in the day. The 4–6pm band was the weakest at 69.2%.
- Is the early flight out of LFT really more reliable?
- 6–8am departures from LFT left on time 89.4% of the time across 1,661 flights; 6–8pm departures, 75.1% across 667. That is a gap of 14.3 points, and it is the whole case for the early flight.
- What is the worst month to fly out of LFT?
- May: 74.8% of the departures that flew left on time, with 770 scheduled. October was the other end of the year at 87.2%. Each figure pools three years of that calendar month.
- Which airline is most on time at LFT?
- Endeavor Air — 88.6% of its 1,152 departures from LFT left on time. PSA Airlines sat at the other end at 76.2% over 3,160 flights. Only airlines with at least 100 departures here are ranked.
- How often are flights cancelled at LFT?
- 2.7% of scheduled departures were cancelled over July 2023 through June 2026. Cancellations are counted against everything scheduled, not against everything that flew — a rate that looks small still adds up to real people in a rebooking line.