MSY to DTW flight delays
New Orleans, LA (MSY) Detroit, MI (DTW) · 926 miles
54 flights · March 2025 – August 2026 · US Bureau of Transportation Statistics
78.85%
Arrived on time
Within 15 minutes of schedule
1.85%
Cancelled
Share of scheduled flights
69 min
When late, late by
Average across delayed arrivals
16 min
Delay per flight
Averaged over every flight flown
What the record says about this route
The two directions do not behave alike. DTW to MSY arrives on time 7.9 points more 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.
This route does better than its own airport. Departures from MSY overall run 9.2 points less punctual than this particular one — so whatever congestion MSY has, this route is largely escaping it.
The New Orleans to Detroit route sits close to the middle of the record — neither notably punctual nor notably late.
Every airline on MSY to DTW
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delta Air Lines | 54 | 78.85% | 1.85% | 69 min | — |
The return leg
DTW to MSY Detroit back to New Orleans 86.79% on time —Other routes from New Orleans
Common questions
Are flights from New Orleans to Detroit usually delayed?
78.85% of flights on the MSY to DTW 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.
How often are MSY to DTW flights cancelled?
1.85% of scheduled flights did not operate — about 19 in every thousand. That is in the normal range.
When MSY to DTW flights are late, how late are they?
About 69 minutes on average across the flights that arrived more than 15 minutes behind schedule.
What these figures do and do not tell you
Everything on this page is counted from the flights that actually operated on MSY to DTW 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 →