• Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Live and Let's Fly
  • Home
  • Reviews
    • Flight Reviews
    • Hotel Reviews
    • Lounge Reviews
    • Trip Reports
  • About
    • Press
  • Contact
  • Privacy
  • Award Expert
Home  >  Travel • USA  >  Summer Travel Woes Worst At These US Airports
TravelUSA

Summer Travel Woes Worst At These US Airports

Kyle Stewart Posted onJuly 17, 2022July 16, 2022 4 Comments
My dear readers, some links on this site pay us referral fees for sending business and sales. We value your time and money and will not waste it. For our complete advertising policy, click here. The content on this page is not provided by any companies mentioned, and has not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by these entities. Opinions expressed here are the author's alone.

In a summer of terrible travel experiences across the United States, some airports are struggling more than others. Here are the worst airports in the US. 


If you are considering booking travel or signing up for a new credit card please click here. Both support LiveAndLetsFly.com.


If you haven’t followed us on Facebook or Instagram, add us today.

It’s Been A Tough Summer

Flight delays have plagued airports in the country all summer long due to record demand, fewer seats, and the pilot shortage. Business travelers have returned in smaller numbers to the sky making the already limited availability and pent-up demand worse. Delays and cancellations have abounded and reports have flooded every news outlet.

If you’ve flown in this misery, my condolensces. Our agents have been inundated by clients braving the biggest airports in the world with few alternatives when things go wrong. One tool that has been helpful to our team is Flight Aware because it does a great job of detailing reasons for a delay and helps us see problems before they become our client’s problems.

The Worst Airports In The US

As you might have suspected, some of the busiest airports in the United States are also those struggling with completing on-time flights, however, there were some surprises on this list too. Flight aware published this list based on tracking data. Here are the worst airports in the US and the percentage of flights cancelled between May 28th-July 13th.

  1. Newark Liberty International Airport: 7.9%
  2. LaGuardia Airport: 7.4% (New York City)
  3. Reagan National Airport: 5.4% (Washington DC)
  4. Raleigh-Durham International Airport: 4.3%
  5. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport: 3.7%
  6. Pittsburgh International Airport: 3.7%
  7. Philadelphia International Airport: 3.6%
  8. Boston Logan International Airport: 3.6%
  9. John F. Kennedy International Airport: 3.5% (New York City)
  10. Charlotte Douglas International Airport: 3.4%

Here’s the worst airports in the US for delays with percentage of flights delayed:

  1. Chicago Midway International Airport: 36%
  2. Orlando International Airport: 33%
  3. John F. Kennedy International Airport: 31.1% (New York City)
  4. Newark Liberty International Airport: 30%
  5. Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport: 30%
  6. Miami International Airport: 28.3%
  7. Charlotte Douglas International Airport: 27.8%
  8.  Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport: 27.2%
  9. Denver International Airport: 27.2%
  10. Harry Reid International Airport: 26.7% (Las Vegas)

While most of these are large airports, Pittsburgh (my home airport) and Cleveland are notable exceptions. That said, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Seattle don’t make the list in the west and surprisingly, Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International is also off the list. In fact, Delta hubs are missing almost entirely, as Minneapolis, Detroit, Atlanta, and Salt Lake City do not make either list.

Delays Worse Than Cancellations

Southwest is having a miserable time as many of its hubs rank either for delays or cancellations. Ignoring Orlando and Las Vegas (because many carriers frequent those) and just focusing on airports where Southwest is the dominant carrier, it’s been ugly. Chicago Midway is delaying more than a third of flights, and Baltimore is at nearly the same.

For origin and destination airports, the issue is worse for travelers. On Friday, July 15th, 2022 more than 2.42 million passengers passed through a TSA checkpoint but when flights are delayed, that doesn’t mean the passenger arrived at their destination later, some may cancel, drive or in the case of the Northeast – take a train. Those at their origin can go home and while it may be inconvenient, they are not put in nearly the same position as a traveler who is delayed to the point that their connection and onward travel is unviable away from home. Those folks have checked out of hotels, returned their rental cars, and may not have any more clean clothes but may be forced to overnight some place close to the airport with few food options at sky-high rates.

Wait times to get a flight disruption corrected are at an unreasonably long time whether in person or on the phone.

When a flight is cancelled, more options become available, but when a flight is merely delayed, the airline is permitted to kick the can down the road for a nearly interminable amount of time. One client traveling two weeks ago had an American Airlines flight at the gate but was delayed “due to weather”, we moved them to a direct on another carrier who took off on-time from the same airport facing the same weather conditions. Ultimately, that client’s flight was delayed from afternoon to evening to the next morning before ultimately cancelling. It must have been a single gate-sized hurricane.

Conclusion

Airports serving the northeastern United States have always faced challenges of high traffic, congestion, and short flight times which can cause aircraft to pile up. But this summer, it’s everywhere but the west coast.

What do you think? Have you been affected by delays and cancellations this summer?

Previous Article “Damage Waiver Fee” At Hyatt Hotel Invites Damage…
Next Article The Value of Spirit Airlines’ Free Spirit Points

About Author

Kyle Stewart

Kyle is a freelance travel writer with contributions to Time, the Washington Post, MSNBC, Yahoo!, Reuters, Huffington Post, MapHappy, Live And Lets Fly and many other media outlets. He is also co-founder of Scottandthomas.com, a travel agency that delivers "Travel Personalized." He focuses on using miles and points to provide a premium experience for his wife and daughter. Email: sherpa@thetripsherpa.com

Follow us on FacebookFollow us on Twitter

Related Posts

  • TSA Abolish ID Checks

    The Points Guy Calls TSA Relatively Unskilled, Is He Wrong?

    May 28, 2023
  • Hyatt Regency Orlando pool from above zoomed in

    Review: Hyatt Regency Orlando – Excellent Elite Recognition

    May 28, 2023
  • 30a beaches

    Why You Should Visit 30A (Florida’s Best Beaches)

    May 28, 2023

4 Comments

  1. Jan Reply
    July 17, 2022 at 11:03 am

    Lots of UA and AA hubs on that list.
    DL has had a couple of weekends in early June when they pooped the bed but they have mostly figured out the cancellations since late June (including the 4th holiday wknd)

  2. Dave Edwards Reply
    July 17, 2022 at 11:43 am

    I would assume weather hasn’t been as bad as historically but not seeing DFW on either of these lists is amazing. As someone who flys through it monthly or more, I’ve been lucky.

    • MeanMeosh Reply
      July 17, 2022 at 7:12 pm

      Local Metroplex resident here. As brutal as summer in DFW has been temperature wise this year, there hasn’t been any rain (as in literally, not a single drop) in over a month. Thus the usual summer pop-up thunderstorms that snarl the airport haven’t been an issue. Ironically, the summer from h*ll we’re enduring is the one thing preventing AA from going into full-on collapse, since DFW has been able to remain functional even with problems at their other hubs.

  3. Ronald Johnson Reply
    July 18, 2022 at 9:51 am

    Aren’t these numbers skewed by simply using percentages? For example, if CLT has 600+ flights per day and the cancellation rate is 3.4%, that’s 20 flights per day. If PIT has 60 flights per day and a cancellation rate of 3.7%, that’s 2 flights per day!

Leave a Reply

Cancel reply

Search

Hot Deals for June

Note: Please see my Advertiser Disclosure

Chase Sapphire Preferred® Card
Earn 60,000 Points
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles!
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Capital One Venture Rewards Credit Card
Earn 75,000 Miles
Chase Ink Business Unlimited® Credit Card
Earn $750 Cash Back
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Earn 120,000 Membership Reward® Points

Recent Posts

  • Woman bumped southwest passenger of size
    Were Three Women Really Bumped Off Southwest Airlines Flight To Accommodate Passenger Of Size? June 8, 2023
  • Should Air India Be Banned From USA For Utilizing Russian Airspace? June 8, 2023
  • United Kirby Russian Airspace
    United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby Says Russian Airspace Should Be Off-Limits To All Carriers Serving USA June 8, 2023
  • Marche Saint Quentin Lunch
    A Delicious Lunch At Marche Saint Quentin (Paris) June 8, 2023

Categories

Popular Posts

  • American Airlines Pins Cockpit Door
    American Airlines First Class Passenger So Angry Over Meal Choices He Pins Flight Attendant To Cockpit Door May 11, 2023
  • Cursing Fight United Airlines
    “Don’t You Ever Tell Me To Speak English!” (Fight Breaks Out On My United Airlines Flight) May 17, 2023
  • Missed VDB United Airlines
    My Foolish $1,000 Airport Lounge Visit May 16, 2023
  • American Airlines Flagship First A321
    The Dismal State Of American Airlines Flagship First Class June 1, 2023

Archives

June 2023
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
2627282930  
« May    

As seen on:

live_and_lets_fly

The @qatarairways Al Mourjan Business Lounge at Do The @qatarairways Al Mourjan Business Lounge at Doha Hamad International Airport is one of my favorite business class and @oneworld lounges in the world. It does get crowded at peak times, but the food is consistently delicious and always worth a stop. There’s even a separate café with grilled paninis made-to-order. With a second lounge now open (Al Mourjan Lounge at The Garden), hopefully the crowding won’t be as bad around midnight.
A lovely stay at the @fsdoha, one of the best hote A lovely stay at the @fsdoha, one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in.
A fabulous flight onboard @qatarairways on the A35 A fabulous flight onboard @qatarairways on the A350-1000 in Qsuite Business Class from DFW-DOH. Qatar offers the best all-around business class product in the world with a spacious suite, plenty of privacy, excellent service, and superb cuisine.
The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles The new United Polaris Lounge at Washington Dulles is the most beautiful of all Polaris Lounges. Stay tuned for a detailed look and many more photos on the blog tomorrow. Well done @united.
@malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire i @malaysiaairlines just announced it would retire its A380 fleet. While not surprising, it is sad to see the growing list of carriers retiring this superjumbo jet. On Malaysia Airlines, I flew the #A380 once from Kuala Lumpur (KUL) to London (LHR) and had the entire first class cabin to myself (full review on the blog). It was a beautiful flight that I will always remember.
Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited tha Welcome to @fly_bur @aveloair! I am so excited that a new carrier, Avelo, has launched, especially from an airport just 12 minutes from my home!
I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxair I greatly miss the @lufthansa #747-8 at @flylaxairport. Hopefully this summer it will return.

.
.
.
.
#Lufthansa #FirstClass #747 #747-8 #StarAlliance #Miles #Points
I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. I recently spent a weekend at the @ventanabigsur. This is not only a lovely, all-inclusive resort, but one of the best properties to use your @hyatt World of Hyatt points.
.
.
.
.
#Hyatt #BigSur #California #WorldofHyatt #CA-1 #Points #Hotels
In terms of a spacious first class product, the @E In terms of a spacious first class product, the @Emirates suite on a 777-300ER is hard to beat. My preference is Suite 2K.

.
.
.
.
#Emirates #777 #firstclass
Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from I Nearly five years ago, I took a “break” from Instagram ahead of the birth of my first child. Goodness, how time flies. While I’ve enjoyed catching up on others over the years, now it is time for me to return to Instagram. In this first post, I highlight two joys in my life, my two children, whom I trust will grow up to be prolific travelers that circumnavigate the globe as ambassadors of love and respect.

.
.
.
.
.

#travel #airplanes #airlines #miles #points #familytravel #human #integrity #honor
United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improv United Airlines' new Polaris seat is a huge improvement over UA's current business class seat. Check out my blog at liveandletsfly.com for 70+ photos of how @united is transforming its entire business class experience starting this December!
The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben! The perfect @flysas name tag for #Longyearben!
Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen - Spotted four #polarbear outside of #longyearbyen -- oh, and I love 40°F summer weather!
One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure One of the best crews I have ever had the pleasure of flying with in all my years of flying. Thank you @flysas SK940 on 11 Aug 2016
Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I a Next stop ARN! But dear @flysas , next time if I assign a window seat months in advance, don't move me to a center seat "for my convenience" with no way to get my original seat back... 😞
Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be rac Ready for #PIA from #MAN to #JFK -- we will be racing the #Delta flight to JFK at the gate next to us, which also departs at 12:45p. With @onemileatatime
Load More... Follow on Instagram
facebook twitter instagram rss

Privacy Policy

© Live and Let's Fly All Rights Reserved.
Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Live and Let's Fly with appropriate and specific directions to the original content.