Know the list of U.S airports with the most delayed flights 

Saturday, April 1, 2023

According to the travel booking app, Hopper has reached the point where 3 in 4 Americans have concerns about flying lately.

It makes sense, especially after December’s Southwest Airlines chaos that left thousands of people and their bags stranded (sometimes in different locations). Even earlier this week, more than 4,300 U.S. flights were delayed and 1,100 were canceled because of late winter weather.

The good news is that there are fewer disruptions this year for U.S. fliers. From Feb. 10 to March 10, about 1,300 fewer flights were canceled compared with the same dates in 2022, Hopper found.

Hayley Berg, lead economist for Hopper stated in the past year, flight disruptions have improved – and they noted fewer cancellations and delays.

This year, airlines are operating more efficiently, with higher staffing and more conservative schedules. Though they likely will see continued cancellations and delays, they expect to see fewer mass disruptions caused by events other than bad weather.

The year-to-date on- time -arrival of rate for U.S airlines was 76.7%, according to the Department of Transportation.

With spring break just around the corner, and soon after that the summer travel season, Americans with upcoming flights may be wondering if the airport they were departing from is prone to delays and cancellations. 

AirHelp, a claims management company focusing on passenger rights, looked at data from a variety of sources, such as reports from airlines, airports, and air traffic control systems, to determine which major U.S. airports had the worst flight disruptions, which are delays of at least 15 minutes or cancellations, during February 2023.

Below are the results:

• Kahului Airport in Hawaii (OGG): 30.82% of flights were disrupted. 
• Reno-Tahoe International Airport in Nevada (RNO): 29.15% of flights were disrupted.
• Harry Reid International Airport in Nevada (LAS): 28.52% of flights were disrupted. 
• Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas (DFW): 28.51% of flights were disrupted. 
• Logan International Airport in Massachusetts (BOS): 28.23% of flights were disrupted.

Dallas was found to be home to the two airports with the most cancellations in February: Dallas Love Field, which had 4.85% of flights canceled, and Dallas/Fort Worth International, which had 4.6%.

Tomasz Pawliszyn, CEO of AirHelp proclaimed that there are a lot of reasons why airports experience a spike in disruptions, but many include factors often outside of an airport’s control.

 Also added by him was one of the most common causes of flight disruptions is congestion in the air and not having slotted backup flights, which can have a ripple effect on the following flights.

Moreover, he also said that another reason is staffing because the industry is still working to build pre-pandemic capacity. Areas that have high tourism-to-local population ratios like Maui often face staffing challenges. 

It was difficult finding backup options to serve the needs of travelers passing through when the industry at large was facing staffing shortages and still rebuilding from the pandemic, but demand is high.

Inclement weather can also place “extreme stress” on airports if employees can’t make it to the airport and planes aren’t cleared for takeoff. 

As for delayed flights, it is up to the airline’s discretion because they aren’t required to offer reimbursement for delays outside their control, like bad weather. Some airlines, like Delta, will give free meal vouchers for delays over three hours and free hotel accommodations if a flight isn’t available until the next day. 

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