80% of flights leaving Burbank (BUR) arrived on time over the past 12 months, 5 points better than the national average of 76%. That ranks 14 of 76 large U.S. airports. About 83 flights leave BUR on a typical day; 1.3% were cancelled. 79% pushed back from the gate on time, so most of the lateness is already there when the flight leaves the gate.
At a glance
- Best hour to fly: 7 a.m. (91% on time). Worst: 8 p.m. (70%).
- Best month: January (84%). Worst: June (78%).
- Most reliable airline here: Delta Air Lines (87%), vs United Airlines at 68%.
- Biggest delay cause: late-arriving aircraft (47% of delay minutes).
- Year on year: getting worse (82% → 80%).
How late?
The on-time rate treats a flight 20 minutes late the same as one 5 hours late. Here's the split for flights leaving BUR: when a flight was late, it was under 45 minutes late 54% of the time. About 1 in 16 flights landed an hour or more late, and 1 in 112 three hours or more; 1.3% were cancelled outright.
- On time or early80%
- 15–30 min late6.3%
- 30–60 min late5.7%
- 1–2 hours late4.0%
- 2–3 hours late1.2%
- 3+ hours late0.9%
- Diverted0.3%
- Cancelled1.3%
Share of all 30,220 scheduled flights, past 12 months, by arrival time against schedule.
Best time of day to fly out of BUR
Time of day matters more at BUR than almost anything else you control. Flights scheduled to leave at 7 a.m. arrived on time 91% of the time; at 8 p.m. it was 70%, a 21-point gap. Taken together, early departures (5–9 a.m.) ran 89% on time against 74% for the evening bank (5–10 p.m.). Early planes usually start the day at the airport, so they haven't had a chance to pick up delays elsewhere. By evening a late inbound aircraft, a crew running out of duty hours or an afternoon thunderstorm can push one late flight into the next. Cancellations cluster too: 10 a.m. departures were cancelled 2.5% of the time, against 1.3% overall.
Hour × month
Combine the two and the spread is wider still. The most reliable combination at BUR was a 7 a.m. departure in April (93% on time); the least, 9 p.m. in July (40%). If you can only move one thing, move the hour. Departure hour usually shifts the odds more than the month does.
Each cell: on-time rate for that departure hour in that calendar month, 2023–2026. Find your travel month, then look along the row for the greenest hour.
Best and worst months
June is the hardest month at BUR, with 78% of flights on time across 2023–2026; January is the best at 84%. Summer (June–August) runs 4 points worse than autumn: heavy schedules, peak loads and afternoon thunderstorms. Cancellations peak in February (2.1% of flights).
Airlines at BUR
Southwest Airlines runs 58% of departures from BUR, so BUR is effectively its hub. When Southwest Airlines has a bad day, so does the airport. Among airlines with at least 1,000 departures here, Delta Air Lines was the most reliable (87% on time) and United Airlines the least (68%), a 19-point difference. On a route where both fly, that difference is worth more than a small fare gap.
| Airline | Departures | On time | Left on time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 17,406 | 81% | 79% | 1.1% | −9 min |
| Alaska Airlines | 5,151 | 84% | 83% | 1.6% | −12 min |
| United Airlines | 3,004 | 68% | 71% | 0.8% | −5 min |
| Delta Air Lines | 1,726 | 87% | 86% | 1.6% | −14 min |
| American Airlines | 1,684 | 79% | 79% | 1.6% | −8 min |
| Spirit Airlines | 670 | 81% | 83% | 3.1% | −11 min |
| Frontier Airlines | 231 | 73% | 72% | 1.7% | −9 min |
| JetBlue | 180 | 63% | 48% | 6.7% | 0 min |
| Allegiant Air | 168 | 73% | 76% | 0.0% | +4 min |
Why flights are late at BUR
Airlines report a cause for every flight that arrives 15 or more minutes late. At BUR, 47% of delay minutes came from late-arriving aircraft: the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Next is the air traffic system at 27%. That's why the first flight of the morning is the safest bet: it has no earlier flight to inherit a delay from. Of the 381 cancellations, 38% were blamed on weather, so most were within the airlines’ control or the air traffic system’s.
The average taxi from gate to takeoff is 18 minutes, about typical for a large U.S. airport.
BUR vs nearby airports
BUR isn't the only option in Los Angeles. Over the past year LAX ran 78% on time with 1.0% of flights cancelled; LGB ran 84% on time with 0.4% of flights cancelled; SNA ran 80% on time with 1.1% of flights cancelled; ONT ran 81% on time with 0.9% of flights cancelled, against 80% and 1.3% at BUR. LGB has the better record, so if fares and times are close, it is the safer pick.
| Airport | Distance | Departures | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BUR Hollywood Burbank | — | 30,220 | 80% | 1.3% |
| LAX Los Angeles LAX | 18 mi | 193,950 | 78% | 1.0% |
| LGB Long Beach | 29 mi | 14,934 | 84% | 0.4% |
| ONT Ontario | 44 mi | 26,554 | 81% | 0.9% |
| SNA Orange County John Wayne | 46 mi | 45,942 | 80% | 1.1% |
Month by month
Over the latest 12 months 80% of BUR departures were on time, against 82% in the 12 months before, a decline of 2 points. The best recent month was January 2026 (86%); the worst, June 2026 (76%).
Worst cancellation days
The worst single day in the past year was Monday, Feb 16, 2026, when 22% of 91 scheduled departures were cancelled. Days like that are usually a major storm, a system outage or a holiday peak hitting bad weather. No average predicts them, so on a stormy forecast, check your airline's travel waivers.
| Date | Departures | Cancelled | On time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 16, 2026 | 91 | 22% | 54% |
| Dec 24, 2025 | 73 | 18% | 53% |
| Oct 14, 2025 | 81 | 10% | 56% |
| Nov 8, 2025 | 67 | 7% | 79% |
| Sep 26, 2025 | 94 | 7% | 68% |
| Nov 7, 2025 | 96 | 7% | 64% |
| Nov 9, 2025 | 98 | 7% | 66% |
| Dec 26, 2025 | 91 | 7% | 51% |
| Jun 19, 2026 | 93 | 6% | 63% |
| Dec 17, 2025 | 79 | 6% | 42% |
Last flights of the day
The last flight of the day is a different bet. Across routes from BUR, each airline's final departure was cancelled 1.0% of the time, against 1.4% for its earlier flights, so at BUR the last flight is actually the steadier one. 1.4% of last flights landed 3+ hours late. The riskiest last flight out was Alaska Airlines to San Francisco (3.5% cancelled).
| Last flight to | Airline | Leaves | Cancelled | 3h+ late | On time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO San Francisco | Alaska Airlines | — | 3.5% | 5.6% | 62% |
| DFW Dallas | American Airlines | 12:57 p.m. | 2.8% | 3.0% | 69% |
| STS Santa Rosa | Alaska Airlines | 3:19 p.m. | 4.6% | 0.7% | 83% |
| PHX Phoenix | American Airlines | 6:38 p.m. | 1.7% | 2.5% | 74% |
| LAS Las Vegas | Spirit Airlines | — | 2.6% | 0.9% | 77% |
| DEN Denver | United Airlines | 12:48 p.m. | 0.3% | 2.2% | 81% |
| SFO San Francisco | Southwest Airlines | 5:30 p.m. | 0.0% | 2.2% | 44% |
| PHX Phoenix | Southwest Airlines | 8:30 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.9% | 79% |
| PDX Portland | Alaska Airlines | 6:10 p.m. | 0.5% | 1.4% | 88% |
| SFO San Francisco | United Airlines | 8:22 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.6% | 50% |
| SEA Seattle | Alaska Airlines | 7:58 p.m. | 1.1% | 0.5% | 81% |
| DEN Denver | Southwest Airlines | 2:40 p.m. | 0.3% | 1.1% | 74% |
Each airline's last scheduled departure of the day on a route, on days it flies the route at least twice; past 12 months. Riskiest first.
Tips for flying out of BUR
- Book the earliest departure you can live with. At BUR the 7 a.m. flights do best.
- Traveling in June? Leave extra slack for anything that can't move: cruises, weddings, the last connection of the day.
- Choosing between airlines? Delta Air Lines has the better record here.
- Delayed already? Most delays at BUR come from late-arriving aircraft. If your inbound plane is late, your flight will be too, whatever the board says.
Routes from BUR
Where you're going matters too. From BUR, the most reliable busy route was to Salt Lake City (SLC, 90% on time) and the least reliable to San Francisco (SFO, 59%). Flights into congested airports inherit their delays: an air traffic program at the destination holds planes on the ground here.
Least reliable first. Routes with at least 365 flights a year.
| To | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Typical arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SFO San Francisco | 3,217 | 59% | 1.2% | +3 min |
| LAS Las Vegas | 4,116 | 79% | 1.7% | −8 min |
| DFW Dallas | 728 | 79% | 2.6% | −11 min |
| STS Santa Rosa | 799 | 81% | 1.9% | −10 min |
| SEA Seattle | 1,653 | 82% | 2.4% | −10 min |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,118 | 82% | 1.0% | −9 min |
| DAL Dallas | 384 | 82% | 1.0% | −6 min |
| BOI Boise | 498 | 83% | 0.6% | −14 min |
| DEN Denver | 2,127 | 84% | 0.4% | −9 min |
| RNO Reno | 424 | 84% | 0.0% | −11 min |
| OAK Oakland | 2,694 | 84% | 0.9% | −11 min |
| SMF Sacramento | 2,596 | 85% | 1.5% | −12 min |
| SJC San Jose | 2,133 | 85% | 1.2% | −12 min |
| PDX Portland | 1,041 | 90% | 0.8% | −12 min |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,457 | 90% | 0.5% | −15 min |
Flights into BUR
Arriving rather than leaving? These are the routes into Hollywood Burbank, least reliable first. The weakest is from Dallas (67% on time).
| From | Flights | On time | Cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|
| DFW Dallas | 728 | 67% | 2.5% |
| DAL Dallas | 394 | 70% | 1.5% |
| DEN Denver | 2,128 | 73% | 0.3% |
| SFO San Francisco | 3,214 | 74% | 1.1% |
| LAS Las Vegas | 4,075 | 78% | 1.4% |
| SEA Seattle | 1,658 | 78% | 2.2% |
| PHX Phoenix | 3,147 | 79% | 0.7% |
| STS Santa Rosa | 799 | 79% | 2.1% |
| OAK Oakland | 2,694 | 81% | 0.9% |
| RNO Reno | 424 | 82% | 0.2% |
| SJC San Jose | 2,137 | 83% | 1.3% |
| SMF Sacramento | 2,596 | 83% | 1.7% |
| BOI Boise | 499 | 85% | 0.4% |
| PDX Portland | 1,040 | 86% | 0.8% |
| SLC Salt Lake City | 1,457 | 87% | 0.4% |
Questions about BUR delays
What is the best time to fly out of BUR?
Flights scheduled at 7 a.m.: over the past year 91% of BUR departures at that hour arrived on time, against 70% at 8 p.m., the worst hour.
What month has the most flight delays at BUR?
June (78% on time). January is the best month (84%).
Which airline is most on time at BUR?
Delta Air Lines: 87% of its BUR departures arrived on time over the past year. United Airlines had the weakest record at 68%.
Why are flights delayed at BUR?
The biggest cause was late-arriving aircraft (47% of delay minutes): the plane showed up late from its previous flight, so the delay started somewhere else. Then the air traffic system (27%).
Is BUR or LAX or LGB or SNA or ONT more reliable?
Over the past year: BUR 80% on time, LAX 78%, LGB 84%, SNA 80%, ONT 81%.
How often are flights cancelled at BUR?
1.3% of scheduled departures over the past 12 months, peaking in February at 2.1%.
Hours are scheduled local departure times. "On time" means arriving less than 15 minutes late at the destination; cancelled and diverted flights count as not on time. Method.