How often does weather delay flights at Paris-Le Bourget?
From January 2018 to September 2026, EUROCONTROL recorded arrival restrictions for weather (regulation reason W) at Paris-Le Bourget (LBG) on 118 of 3,195 days (3.7%). The worst month is May: 7% of days and 0.4 minutes of weather delay per arriving flight on average. Calmest: April (0% of days). Weather caused 21% of all arrival-regulation delay minutes at this airport. Source: EUROCONTROL.
Month by month
| Month | Days with weather restrictions | Days with ≥ 1 min per arrival | Minutes per arriving flight |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 4% | 3% | 0.63 |
| February | 4% | 3% | 0.12 |
| March | 2% | 1% | 0.11 |
| April | 0% | 0% | 0.00 |
| May | 7% | 5% | 0.45 |
| June | 6% | 3% | 0.31 |
| July | 4% | 2% | 0.12 |
| August | 3% | 3% | 0.21 |
| September | 2% | 1% | 0.07 |
| October | 2% | 1% | 0.04 |
| November | 7% | 6% | 0.77 |
| December | 5% | 3% | 0.26 |
Share of days on which EUROCONTROL's network manager limited arrivals because of weather at or around the airport (regulation reason W), 2018–2026. Minutes per arriving flight = weather-regulation delay ÷ all arrivals that month. Worst weeks of the year: week 45 (11%), week 19 (10%), week 50 (9%).
Year by year
| Year | Days with weather restrictions | Minutes per arriving flight | Arrivals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 10 of 365 | 0.31 | 28,299 |
| 2019 | 19 of 365 | 0.25 | 26,742 |
| 2020 | 3 of 366 | 0.02 | 16,686 |
| 2021 | 4 of 365 | 0.02 | 25,952 |
| 2022 | 6 of 365 | 0.04 | 31,969 |
| 2023 | 8 of 365 | 0.12 | 29,339 |
| 2024 | 15 of 366 | 0.26 | 28,629 |
| 2025 | 30 of 365 | 0.63 | 28,605 |
| 2026 (Jan–Sep) | 23 of 273 | 0.57 | 22,427 |
2020–2021: far fewer flights during the pandemic.
Weather among all causes
| Cause of arrival regulation | Share of delay minutes |
|---|---|
| Atc staffing | 21% |
| Weather | 21% |
| Special event | 16% |
| Aerodrome capacity | 12% |
| Industrial action (atc) | 11% |
| Air traffic control capacity | 8% |
| Atc equipment | 8% |
Causes with at least 2% of all arrival-regulation delay minutes, 2018–2026.
What the weather was like on those days
| In the airport's weather reports (METAR, 05–21 UTC) | Days with weather restrictions | Other days | Ratio |
|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm reported | 30% | 4.5% | 6.5× |
| Fog or visibility under 800 m | 27% | 1.6% | — |
| Cloud base at or below 200 ft | 12% | 0.7% | — |
| Gusts of 30 knots or more | 6.8% | 5.7% | 1.2× |
| Crosswind of 20 knots or more on the best runway | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| Snow | 4.2% | 1.1% | — |
| Freezing rain or drizzle | 0.0% | 0.1% | — |
On 33% of the restriction days none of these showed up in the airport's own reports: restrictions are also set on forecasts, for weather on the approach or elsewhere in the area, and when the wind direction forces a less efficient runway layout. The weather is what came with the delays, not proof of their cause. Based on 3,152 days with full METAR coverage.
The heaviest days
| Date and reported weather | Weather delay, minutes | Arrivals | Minutes per arrival |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23 November 2018 Fog or visibility under 800 m | 3,664 | 65 | 56.4 |
| 21 January 2025 Fog or visibility under 800 m; Cloud base at or below 200 ft | 3,455 | 65 | 53.2 |
| 17 January 2025 Fog or visibility under 800 m; Cloud base at or below 200 ft | 2,922 | 57 | 51.3 |
| 3 May 2026 none of these in the airport's METAR | 2,770 | 93 | 29.8 |
| 16 November 2018 Cloud base at or below 200 ft | 2,478 | 57 | 43.5 |
What these numbers cover
- Only delays from air traffic flow management (ATFM) regulations on arrivals are counted — not all delays, not departures, and not cancellations or diversions. A day with restrictions does not mean every flight was late.
- Airport ICAO code LFPB, IATA LBG. Ranking by share of restriction days: 42 of 94 airports on this site.