Transportation

Airports With the Most Flight Delays and Cancellations

Douglas A. McIntyre

Published: November 17, 2023 8:55 am

The Wall Street Journal recently came out with its worst airports list. The methodology was complex. It included places to eat, length of waiting lines, time waiting for security checks and even children’s facilities. Another new ranking looked at only two things that madden travelers. How many flight cancellations and delays does each large airport in America have?

The “Holiday Travel Statistics: Travelers Concerns for Upcoming Season, Busiest U.S. Airports” report from real estate services provider IPX1031 looked at the percentage of flights canceled, the percentage delayed and the size of the airport. The authors noted, “So far, 23% have already experienced a flight delay or cancellation this year.” (These U.S. airports had the most flight cancellations in 2023.)

The five airports with the most delays were Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (31.85%), McCarran International (Las Vegas) (29.42%), Orlando International & Denver International (29.07%), Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall (28.17%) and Chicago Midway International (26.93%).

Cancelled flights are usually worse. People need to find a place to stay or go home to travel on another day. The worst for these was Dallas Love Field (2.61%), Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International (2.59%), Newark Liberty International (2.58%), LaGuardia (2.51%) and Dallas/Fort Worth International (2.49%). Notably, two of these airports are in the New York City area.