MEL to MCY flight delays
Melbourne (MEL) Maroochydore (MCY)
3,239 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · Australian Government BITRE
78.53%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
0.34%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
—
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
—
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
Which airline you fly changes the odds here. Qantas arrived on time 17.2 points more often than Jetstar over the same period on the same route — same airports, same weather, same air traffic control. A gap that survives all of that is about how the two airlines are run.
The two directions do not behave alike. MCY to MEL arrives on time 7.9 points less often than the outbound. Delay accumulates through the flying day, so whichever direction is scheduled later tends to carry the worse record — which is an argument for booking the morning departure if the choice exists.
The Melbourne to Maroochydore route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Which airline should you fly on this route?
Over March 2025 – August 2026, Qantas arrived on time most often on MEL to MCY. Jetstar was late most often. Flights ran closest to schedule in May and worst in October.
Every airline on MEL to MCY
Ranked by how many flights each one operated. A carrier with fewer than 100 flights in the period is listed but not graded.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Cancelled | Avg delay | Grade |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jetstar | 1,397 | 69.66% | 0.21% | — | D |
| Virgin Australia | 1,248 | 86.23% | 0.48% | — | B |
| Qantas | 534 | 86.87% | 0.19% | — | A |
| QantasLink | 60 | 50.85% | 1.67% | — | — |
Month by month
Share of flights that arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, by month flown.
The return leg
MCY to MEL Maroochydore back to Melbourne 70.63% on time DOther routes from Melbourne
- MEL → SYD · Sydney (Mascot) D
- MEL → BNE · Brisbane D
- MEL → ADL · Adelaide C
- MEL → PER · Perth C
- MEL → OOL · Gold Coast C
- MEL → HBA · Hobart (Cambridge) C
- MEL → CBR · Canberra C
- MEL → LST · Launceston (Western Junction) D
- MEL → CNS · Cairns C
- MEL → MQL · Mildura D
- MEL → NTL · Williamtown C
- MEL → DPO · Devonport C
Common questions
Are flights from Melbourne to Maroochydore usually delayed?
78.53% of flights on the MEL to MCY route arrived within 15 minutes of schedule, so roughly 2 in every ten arrived late. That is about the same as the average route in this record.
Which airline is most on time from Melbourne to Maroochydore?
Qantas, at 86.87% on time across 534 flights. The least punctual on the route was Jetstar at 69.66%.
How often are MEL to MCY flights cancelled?
0.34% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 3 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
What is the best month to fly Melbourne to Maroochydore?
May, when 84.3% of flights arrived on time. The worst was March at 66.7%.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on MEL to MCY during March 2025 – August 2026, as reported by the airlines to the US Bureau of Transportation Statistics. "On time" is the federal definition: arriving at the gate within 15 minutes of the scheduled time.
A route's record is a description of the past, not a forecast. Weather, air traffic control and the aircraft's earlier flights that day drive most delays, and none of them are predictable from a historical rate. What the record does tell you is whether this route runs late more often than others, and which carrier on it has the better history — which is the part you can actually act on when you book.
Cancellations are counted separately from delays because they are a different problem for a traveller: a late flight still gets you there. How the grade is calculated →