Is there a ground stop at MCO today?
No ground stop at MCO right now (as of 8:49 PM ET, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Orlando International Airport. In the last 12 months the FAA issued 75 ground stops and 8 ground delay programs for MCO, most often for thunderstorms, holding flights on 63 days.
Live FAA delay status for Orlando International Airport (KMCO, Orlando, FL): ground stops, ground delay programs and delays right now, what the FAA has listed for MCO recently, and how often flights here actually run late.
No: the FAA is not reporting a ground stop at MCO right now.
FAA NAS Status lists no ground stop, ground delay program, or delay event for Orlando Intl. Checked Nov 7, 2026 · 0149Z (8:49 PM EST); this page refreshes about every two minutes.
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Why MCO gets delayed
Orlando is a fair-weather airport with one big exception: the afternoon thunderstorm. The 20-year record shows about 92 thunderstorm days a year at MCO, among the most of any airport in the country, and 85% of the 87 FAA programs in the 12 months to October 2026 were for storms. July (18 ground stops), June (14) and August (13) carried the load.
The stops are usually manageable, typically about 1 h 29 min, but the clock matters more than the length. Storms build after lunch, the FAA starts metering, and the delays carry into the night, which makes Orlando one of the clearest morning-versus-evening airports in the country.
Written by the ATIS Alerts team from FAA Command Center advisories (October 2025 to October 2026), BTS airline on-time data (June 2025 to May 2026) and 20 years of hourly weather observations. Updated October 2026.
How long MCO delays usually last
Every FAA ground stop and ground delay program for MCO from Nov 6, 2025 to Nov 5, 2026, rebuilt from the FAA Command Center's own advisories.
Ground delay programs
8Ground stops
75Flights to MCO were held by at least one FAA program on 63 days in the last year. 61% of the stops and programs began between 1 PM and 5 PM local time.
What triggered them
MCO ground stops and delay programs by month
| Month | Ground stops | Delay programs | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| December 2025 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| January 2026 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| February 2026 | 4 | 1 | 5 |
| March 2026 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| April 2026 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| May 2026 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| June 2026 | 14 | 1 | 15 |
| July 2026 | 18 | 0 | 18 |
| August 2026 | 13 | 2 | 15 |
| September 2026 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| October 2026 | 4 | 0 | 4 |
| November 2026 to dateplus Nov 6-30, 2025 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
The busiest month was July, with 18 ground stops and delay programs combined.
Source: FAA ATCSCC advisory database (fly.faa.gov), every ground stop and ground delay program advisory the FAA Command Center issued for MCO, rebuilt daily by ATIS Alerts.
Best time of day to fly out of MCO
Airline departures scheduled before 9 AM left on time 91% of the time, against 52% for those scheduled after 9 PM. By weekday, Wednesday was the most reliable (79%) and Sunday the least (68%). BTS on-time data, June 2025 to May 2026; on time = within 15 minutes.
Recent FAA events at MCO
Ground stops and delay programs the FAA has listed for MCO in the last 90 days, from ATIS Alerts' own log of FAA NAS Status.
- Departure DelaysNov 7, 2026 · 0000Z (7:00 PM EST)lasted 30 min · rwy:clsd equip outage · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysNov 3, 2026 · 1705Z (12:05 PM EST)lasted 10 min · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysNov 3, 2026 · 1635Z (11:35 AM EST)lasted 25 min · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysNov 2, 2026 · 0215Z (9:15 PM EST)lasted 3h 5m · wx:thunderstorms · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysNov 2, 2026 · 0030Z (7:30 PM EST)lasted 1h 35m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 30 min
- Departure DelaysNov 1, 2026 · 2025Z (3:25 PM EST)lasted 4h · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 26, 2026 · 2145Z (5:45 PM EDT)lasted 50 min · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 25, 2026 · 2205Z (6:05 PM EDT)lasted 1h 25m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 22, 2026 · 2120Z (5:20 PM EDT)lasted 5h 30m · rwy:obstruction · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 17, 2026 · 1645Z (12:45 PM EDT)lasted 2h 10m · tm initiatives:mit:vol · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 16, 2026 · 2340Z (7:40 PM EDT)lasted 8h 10m · rwy:maintenance · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 11, 2026 · 2220Z (6:20 PM EDT)lasted 40 min · rwy:maintenance · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 11, 2026 · 1600Z (12:00 PM EDT)lasted 5 min · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Ground StopOct 11, 2026 · 1339Z (9:39 AM EDT)lasted 1h 12m · thunderstorms
- Departure DelaysOct 11, 2026 · 1135Z (7:35 AM EDT)lasted 2h 20m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Ground StopOct 10, 2026 · 1810Z (2:10 PM EDT)lasted 1h 50m · thunderstorms
- Departure DelaysOct 9, 2026 · 2150Z (5:50 PM EDT)lasted 3h 25m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 60 min
- Departure DelaysOct 8, 2026 · 2015Z (4:15 PM EDT)lasted 1h 5m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 8, 2026 · 1140Z (7:40 AM EDT)lasted 1h 25m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 7, 2026 · 2210Z (6:10 PM EDT)lasted 30 min · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 6, 2026 · 0025Z (8:25 PM EDT)lasted 1h 25m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 4, 2026 · 1835Z (2:35 PM EDT)lasted 2h 35m · tm initiatives:mit:wx · avg delay 15 min
- Departure DelaysOct 3, 2026 · 2230Z (6:30 PM EDT)lasted 1h 55m · wx:thunderstorms · avg delay 30 min
- Ground StopOct 3, 2026 · 1917Z (3:17 PM EDT)lasted 1h 13m · thunderstorms
- Departure DelaysOct 3, 2026 · 1910Z (3:10 PM EDT)lasted 1h 35m · wx:thunderstorms · avg delay 30 min
Durations are the time the FAA kept the event listed. Log complete from 2026-09-22; older rows are the last event of each type seen by the ATIS Alerts bot since 2026-07-22.
How often is MCO delayed?
Airline on-time performance at MCO, Jun 2025 to May 2026, from the US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
161,731 scheduled airline arrivals and 161,737 departures in the period. Best month: Sep 2025 (84.8% on time); worst: Jul 2025 (66.4%). 30% of arrival delay minutes were charged to weather or the National Airspace System, the categories a ground stop or ground delay program falls under.
On-time arrivals by month
Bar = share of arrivals within 15 minutes of schedule; largest month had 15,493 arrivals.
What caused the delays
- 41%Late-arriving aircraft
- 29%Airline (crew, maintenance, ground handling)
- 27%National Airspace System (ATC, volume, non-extreme weather)
- 3%Extreme weather
- 0%Security
Shares of delay minutes on arrivals 15+ minutes late, as reported by the carriers to the DOT.
Source: Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) Airline On-Time Performance (reporting carriers; regional, cargo, and general aviation flights are not included). Published about two months after each month ends.
Weather at KMCO right now
Weather drives most ground stops: thunderstorms, low ceilings, wind and snow.
METAR KMCO 070053Z 32008KT 10SM SCT045 BKN060 27/20 A2991
MCO ground stop FAQ
Is there a ground stop at MCO today?
No ground stop at MCO right now (as of 8:49 PM ET, Nov 6): the FAA lists no ground stop, ground delay program or delays for Orlando International Airport. This page rechecks the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes.
How do I know if MCO has a ground stop right now?
The banner at the top of this page reads the FAA's NAS Status feed about every two minutes. A red banner means the FAA currently lists a ground stop for Orlando Intl; green means it does not. The official source is nasstatus.faa.gov.
How many ground stops has MCO had in the last year?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 75 ground stops and 8 ground delay programs for MCO, most often for thunderstorms, holding flights on 63 days. Source: the FAA Command Center's advisory database (fly.faa.gov).
How long do ground stops at MCO last?
In the last 12 months the FAA issued 75 ground stops for MCO. The typical one lasted 1 h 27 min, and the middle half ran 1 h 4 min to 2 h 9 min. Ground delay programs run longer: 8 of them, typically 4 h with an average delay of 90 minutes.
Does a ground stop mean my flight is cancelled?
No. It means departures to MCO are held, not cancelled. Airlines cancel on their own when the backlog cannot be recovered, so watch your carrier's updates alongside this page.
⚠️ Informational only. FAA NAS Status is the authoritative source for delay programs; your airline or dispatch governs your flight. ATIS Alerts is not affiliated with the FAA.