These U.S. Airports Have The Most Flight Delays And Cancellations So Far This Summer

Anybody traveling by air this summer has likely dealt with what some people are calling “travel chaos” at airports.

It’s not unusual to see long lines snaking their way through security checkpoints or piles of baggage and even more lines at baggage carousels. And then there are the astounding number of flight delays and cancellations to deal with.

There are a number of factors that contribute to the situation. For starters, when travel was halted during the COVID-19 pandemic, airlines and airports laid off scores of employees, and thousands of pilots took early retirement packages. Now that travel restrictions have been lifted and people are traveling again, airlines and airports find themselves short-staffed, particularly when it comes to pilots. Making matters worse, commercial airline pilots continue to retire.

The result is that airlines continue to book flights, only to cancel them at the last moment due to staffing shortages.

Then again, while airlines may be understaffed, particularly in regard to pilots, some airline executives say the federal government also has a staffing shortage that is evident at air traffic control facilities.

“From an industry perspective in the United States, New York, Newark, and Florida really are air traffic control challenges,” said Scott Kirby, United Airlines CEO, according to CNN.

Regardless of where the blame lies, the bottom line is that for one reason or another, data from flight tracking website FlightAware shows that U.S. airlines have canceled more than 100,000 flights this year. Among those cancellations, there have been some 30,000 just since Memorial Day weekend, according to CNN.

What’s more, data from flight analytics firm masFlight shows that U.S. airlines canceled roughly 1,400 flights between Friday and Monday over the July 4th weekend alone, according to The Hill.

The good news is that if your travel plans are flexible, you can take steps to avoid the U.S. airports with the most cancellations and delays.

Let’s get to it. Here are the top 10 U.S. airports with the most flight cancellations this summer and the top 10 U.S. airports with the most flight delays this summer.

U.S. Airports With The Most Flight Cancellations

An analysis of FlightAware data was conducted for CNN for the period of May 28 through July 13. Three New York-area airports are among the 10 airports with the most flight cancellations.

Here are the top 10 U.S. airports with the most flight cancellations this summer:

1. Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey: 7.9 percent of flights canceled
2. LaGuardia Airport, New York: 7.4 percent of flights canceled
3. Reagan National Airport, Washington, D.C.: 5.4 percent of flights canceled
4. Raleigh-Durham International Airport, North Carolina: 4.3 percent of flights canceled
5. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, Ohio: 3.7 percent of flights canceled
6. Pittsburgh International Airport, Pennsylvania: 3.7 percent of flights canceled
7. Philadelphia International Airport, Pennsylvania: 3.6 percent of flights canceled
8. Boston Logan International Airport, Massachusetts: 3.6 percent of flights canceled
9. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York: 3.5 percent of flights canceled
10. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina: 3.4 percent of flights canceled

U.S. Airports With The Most Flight Delays

The FlightAware data analysis for CNN also covered flight delays this summer. Interestingly, three of the airports with the most flight delays are located in Florida.

Here are the top 10 U.S. airports with the most flight delays this summer:

1. Chicago Midway International Airport, Illinois: 36 percent of flights delayed
2. Orlando International Airport, Florida: 33 percent of flights delayed
3. John F. Kennedy International Airport, New York: 31.1 percent of flights delayed
4. Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey: 30 percent of flights delayed
5. Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, Maryland: 30 percent of flights delayed
6. Miami International Airport, Florida: 28.3 percent of flights delayed
7. Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina: 27.8 percent of flights delayed
8. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Florida: 27.2 percent of flights delayed
9. Denver International Airport, Colorado: 27.2 percent of flights delayed
10. Harry Reid International Airport, Las Vegas: 26.7 percent of flights delayed

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