Best, Worst Airports for Winter Holiday Travel

Nearly 1 in every 4 flights departing during the winter holiday travel season over the past decade was delayed, according to a LendingTree analysis. However, the airports with the worst delay rates aren’t from the snowy, northern, big cities you might expect.

We all know holiday travel can be a mess. To find out how bad it’s been in recent years, LendingTree dove into 2015-to-2023 flight delay and cancellation data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. We used this data to determine how often flights are delayed or canceled at each of the nation’s 50 busiest airports over the winter holiday. (Note: This period starts a week or so before Christmas and lasts until a few days after New Year’s Day, with the dates slightly adjusted based on when Christmas falls each year.)

Here’s what we found.

Key findings

• Winter travel delays are common, though cancellations are relatively rare. From 2015 through 2023, 23% of departing winter flights were delayed. That’s about 1 in every 4 flights. However, given that a roundtrip flight with one stopover in each direction equals four flights, your chances of being delayed at some point in your holiday travels are pretty darn high. Meanwhile, just 2.5% of winter holiday flights were canceled in the same period.
• Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International in Florida has the worst winter holiday delay rate. Over the analyzed period, 29.0% of winter holiday flights from the airport were delayed. Another Florida airport, Palm Beach International, and William P. Hobby in Houston were next worst at 28.9% and 28.8%, respectively.
• Charlotte Douglas International has the best winter holiday delay rate. Fewer than 1 in 5 departing winter flights — 17.6% — from the North Carolina airport were delayed from 2015 through 2023. Daniel K. Inouye International in Honolulu (19.0%) and Detroit Metro (19.1%) joined the top three.
• Chicago Midway International ranks as the worst winter airport for the worst-case scenario: cancellation. 5.8% of winter flights from the Chicago airport were canceled over the analyzed period. Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall was second at 3.6%, while Denver International was third at 3.3%.

Winter holiday flight delays are common, but cancellations remain rare

Travel can often be a mess, but rarely more so than in the mad rush of travel from before Christmas to after the start of the new year. We all have holiday travel horror stories or have loved ones with them. It’s part of what makes “the most wonderful time of the year” crazy stressful.

Our analysis of government data shows that the stress isn’t from our imagination. Delays are common.

The news is far better regarding cancellations. Just 2.5% of departing winter flights — 1 in every 40 — were canceled over the same period. Still, considering there are an estimated 45,000 flights in the U.S. every day, that 2.5% equals more than 1,000 flights. That’s a big number.

BTS data shows delays are more common during the winter holidays than any other analyzed holiday season. Independence Day had the second-highest percentage, at 20% from 2015 through 2023, with Memorial Day at 17% and Thanksgiving and Easter at 15% each. As for cancellations, Easter topped the list, with a stunning 5.6% of flights canceled. That’s more than double the percentage during the winter holidays, but that rate was skewed mightily because 41.2% of flights around Easter were canceled in 2020. Easter was on April 12, 2020, right as the nation was shutting down during the onset of the coronavirus pandemic.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International has worst winter holiday delay rate

Those big numbers shouldn’t be surprising. It seems as if everyone is hopping on a plane to go somewhere during the winter holidays. Factor in unpredictable winter weather in cities with some of the nation’s biggest airports — Chicago, New York, Boston, Denver, etc. — and it seems like a delay waiting to happen.

All that’s true, of course, which makes it all the more shocking that not one of the above cities was among the worst when we compared delay rates at the nation’s 50 busiest airports.

Would you believe the 10 most delayed airports are all in Florida, Texas or California? Yeah, we were surprised, too.

Airports with the highest delay rates during the winter holiday travel season

Source: LendingTree analysis of Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data from 2015 to 2023. Note: Airport names and cities are as listed by the BTS.

Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood (Florida) International has the worst winter holiday delay rate. From 2015 to 2023, nearly 3 in 10 (29.0%) winter holiday flights from the South Florida airport were delayed. Palm Beach International — just up Florida’s Atlantic coast from Fort Lauderdale — was second (28.9%) and William P. Hobby in Houston (28.8%) came in a close third.

Cold-weather airports in Newark, N.J. (12th at 26.6%), Kansas City, Mo. (13th at 26.4%), and Chicago’s Midway (15th at 26.0%) were just outside the top 10.

Only two of the nation’s 10 busiest airports made this list — Orlando International and Dallas/Fort Worth International. However, it takes a lot more delays to push up the rate in an airport as busy as Orlando or Dallas-Fort Worth because there are so many flights. Think of it this way: If a baseball player only has five at-bats and gets a hit, their batting average will increase more than it would if they had 600.

Charlotte Douglas International has best winter holiday delay rate

Conversely, the airports with the best winter holiday delay rates are scattered throughout the country, led by Charlotte Douglas International. Fewer than 1 in 5 departing winter holiday flights (17.6%) from the North Carolina airport were delayed over the analyzed period.

The second-place airport — Daniel K. Inouye International in Honolulu (19.0%) — is nearly 4,700 miles from Charlotte. Detroit’s Metro (19.1%), Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson (19.2%) and Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental (19.3%) rounded out the top five.

Airports with the lowest delay rates during the winter holiday travel season

Source: LendingTree analysis of BTS data from 2015 to 2023. Note: Airport names and cities are as listed by the BTS.

The nation’s busiest airport — Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International — has one of the lowest delay rates. That may surprise anyone who’s traveled through there regularly, but — again — it could be because the volume of flights through that airport is so high that it takes more delays to push the rate higher.

Chicago Midway International ranks as worst winter airport for cancellations

While flight delays are infuriating, nothing wreaks havoc on holiday plans like a flight cancellation. Thankfully, however, they’re relatively rare. Again, just 1 in every 40 flights (2.5%) around the winter holiday season ends in cancellation.

Of course, some airports’ track records are worse than others. For example, Chicago’s Midway International had the worst winter holiday flight cancellation rate of any of the nation’s 50 biggest airports from 2015 to 2023, at 5.8%. That’s about 1 in every 17 flights.

Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport came in a distant second at 3.6% during the same period, while Denver International was third at 3.3%.

Airports with the highest cancellation rates during the winter holiday travel season

Source: LendingTree analysis of BTS data from 2015 to 2023. Note: Airport names and cities are as listed by the BTS.

Four of the top seven airports for cancellations were in two areas: Chicago or Dallas-Fort Worth. Given that both Dallas-area airports were among the worst for travel delays, those passing through that area this holiday season would be well advised to plan accordingly.

Full data

Airports with the highest/lowest delay rates during the winter holiday travel season

Source: LendingTree analysis of BTS data from 2015 to 2023. Notes: Airport names and cities are as listed by the BTS. Rankings are based on the delay rate.

6 tips for avoiding, managing delays

Anyone who’s traveled knows that even the best-laid plans can sometimes go awry, often through no fault of their own. That doesn’t mean you can’t do some things to stack the odds in your favor.

• Fly nonstop: Want to reduce your chances of a delayed flight? Take fewer flights. It isn’t always an option, and it often isn’t cheap. However, if you’re looking to streamline your travel, nonstop flights can be the best way to do that.
• Take the first flight: Sure, getting up at 4 a.m. to schlep to the airport stinks. But is it worse than sitting in the airport wondering when your delayed flight is going to leave? Taking the first flight of the day usually means fewer delays since your plane has probably been parked at the gate overnight, so you won’t have to worry about it getting stuck elsewhere.
• Be flexible with airports and dates: Are there multiple airports within a reasonable drive of your home and/or your destination? Don’t be afraid to consider using them. Do you have to be somewhere on a specific date? If not, price flights on various days. For example, consider traveling on Christmas Day. It may not be ideal, but you may find better deals and less crowded airports (and possibly fewer delays) if you go that route.
• Use your credit card to your advantage: Cards’ travel protections can vary widely, so be sure to check before you travel, but your card can help. Perhaps it has travel insurance that can cover you in case of problems. (For more expansive coverage, you can also consider purchasing additional travel coverage beyond what your card offers.) Perhaps it has lounge access that can help you take some of the edge off while waiting out the delay.
• Don’t be a jerk: Delays and cancellations stink, but taking it out on the person behind the counter trying to help you isn’t going to make things better. In fact, it’ll likely have the opposite effect. However, if you’re the person nice to them after they’ve been yelled at 10 times in the past hour, they might be able to find a better flight for you or slide a food or drink voucher your way.
• Get that refund if you want it: If your flight is canceled for any reason and you don’t get rebooked or want a travel voucher or flight credit, the airline has to give you a refund. Yes, has to. Don’t take no for an answer. The Department of Transportation’s rules have changed recently as it relates to refunds for travel and baggage delays. These changes are good news for travelers, so be sure you’re up to speed on your rights before traveling.

Methodology

LendingTree researchers analyzed Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) data to rate the worst airports for holiday travel.

Specifically, researchers analyzed departure data from 2015 through 2023 and averaged the departure delay rate for each airport in each year over the winter holiday period. We analyzed the 50 airports with the most passengers in 2023.

The winter holiday period covers different days depending on when Christmas fell that year. Here’s that breakdown in our analyzed period:

• 2015: Dec. 16 to Jan. 5
• 2016: Dec. 15 to Jan. 4
• 2017: Dec. 14 to Jan. 3
• 2018: Dec. 14 to Jan. 3
• 2019: Dec. 14 to Jan. 3
• 2020: Dec. 16 to Jan. 5
• 2021: Dec. 15 to Jan. 4
• 2022: Dec. 15 to Jan. 4
• 2023: Dec. 14 to Jan. 3