Air travel

How often are flights at Louisville (SDF) late?

In the 12 months through August 2026, 18.3% of flights leaving Louisville (SDF) left 15 or more minutes late, the 17th fewest of the 102 U.S. airports with at least 10,000 departures, against 22.9% of all U.S. flights. Airlines cancelled 2.3% of its scheduled departures (1.9% nationwide), the 29th most of the 102. Its worst month was December 2025, when 23.2% left late. Flights scheduled to leave in the 8 p.m. hour were late most often (33.3%), and those before 6 a.m. least often (5.6%).

Left 15+ minutes late

18.3%

The 17th fewest of 102 airports

Cancelled

2.3%

The 29th most of 102 airports

Worst month

December 2025

23.2% left late

Flights leaving Louisville (SDF) 15+ minutes late, each month

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the tables below.

Flights leaving Louisville (SDF) 15+ minutes late, by scheduled departure hour

The interactive chart needs JavaScript. The numbers are in the tables below.

Hours are local time at Louisville. Delays build through the day as late planes make their next flights late too. Hours with fewer than about one flight a day are left out.

The numbers

Departures from Louisville (SDF) each month and each scheduled departure hour.

Flights leaving Louisville (SDF) by month
Month Scheduled Left late Cancelled
September 2025 1,929 12.8% 0.7%
October 2025 2,089 16.1% 0.6%
November 2025 1,731 18.1% 3.8%
December 2025 1,686 23.2% 1.8%
January 2026 1,578 16.1% 7.0%
February 2026 1,594 15.8% 2.6%
March 2026 2,009 23.1% 3.8%
April 2026 2,136 15.9% 1.1%
May 2026 2,304 16.9% 0.9%
June 2026 2,012 23.0% 2.1%
July 2026 2,015 21.8% 2.6%
August 2026 1,982 17.1% 2.0%
Flights leaving Louisville (SDF) by departure hour
Departure hour Scheduled Left late Cancelled
Before 6 a.m. 806 5.6% 2.5%
6 a.m. 3,212 8.2% 2.3%
7 a.m. 2,332 8.5% 1.6%
8 a.m. 1,377 10.1% 1.1%
9 a.m. 936 10.2% 1.7%
10 a.m. 1,660 14.4% 1.6%
11 a.m. 1,457 15.2% 2.9%
Noon 1,338 22.3% 2.6%
1 p.m. 1,520 20.6% 2.1%
2 p.m. 1,167 22.5% 3.1%
3 p.m. 1,561 25.6% 1.9%
4 p.m. 1,212 30.6% 2.6%
5 p.m. 1,566 28.9% 2.5%
6 p.m. 1,249 32.1% 3.2%
7 p.m. 1,034 27.7% 3.2%
8 p.m. 485 33.3% 3.5%

Source and notes

U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Airline On-Time Performance (Reporting Carrier On-Time Performance, 1987–present) (Public domain (U.S. government work)). Data from September 2025 through August 2026.

These are domestic flights of the large U.S. airlines that report to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, including the regional airlines that fly for them. A flight is late when it leaves its gate 15 or more minutes after its scheduled time, out of the flights that left; cancellations are out of the flights scheduled. BTS posts each month about two months after it ends, and this page moves on a month when it does.