Guide
Memorial Day weekend flying: the first summer weekend's record
Memorial Day weekend 2026 ran 74.2% on time, 4.6 points worse than normal. Four years of data show Saturday wins and Dallas-Fort Worth struggles.
Memorial Day weekend has gone both ways. In 2023 the four days from Friday to Monday ran 84.6% on time, 5.4 points better than the weeks around them. In 2026 the same window (Friday 22 May to Monday 25 May 2026) ran 74.2%, 4.6 points worse.
Nothing about the holiday changed. The weather did.
That is the first thing four years of records say about this weekend: its reputation depends on where the storms land on the last weekend of May. The second is that within the weekend, some days and some airports are reliably better than others, and those are what you can plan around.
Four years side by side
During the holidayNormal weeks either side
65.0%90.0%
All US flights. Normal weeks are the two weeks either side of the window, excluding other holidays. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
Two years beat their normal weeks and two fell short. Schedule size did not decide which: the 2026 window carried 79,261 scheduled flights over its four days, the most of the four years, but 2024 carried more flights than 2023 and ran far worse, while 2025 carried more again and ran better. The 2023 weekend was the best of the four: almost every big airport ran better than usual, and cancellations were rare. The 2024 weekend ran 72.0% with 1.40% cancelled, and the site's test did not count it as a measurable holiday effect. In 2025 the on-time rate beat normal by 1.3 points but late flights ran later, which is why that year still counts as a measurable effect.
The 2026 weekend was the weakest relative to its baseline. Its cancellation rate matched the normal weeks at 0.95%; the damage was in delays, with the share of flights arriving an hour or more late rising to 9.5%. The 2026 page has the full breakdown and the overview compares the years.
Why does late May swing so much? It sits exactly on the seam between spring and summer. The May guide shows the southern thunderstorm season arriving in Texas that month, and by the last weekend of May it can reach Atlanta, Nashville and the Carolinas as well. A weekend that catches the storms looks like July; one that misses them looks like April. Four years is too few for me to say which is more likely. What it does show is that the holiday itself is not the problem: the holidays guide explains why a long weekend often thins out the most congested business peaks.
The days of the weekend
Saturday is the day I would fly. In all four years it was the best or second-best day of the window, and in 2024 and 2026 it was the best outright. The schedule is lighter, business travel is absent, and many holiday travellers have already left on Friday.
Friday and Monday are the peaks. Friday was the weakest day of the window in 2023, 2024 and 2026, and Monday was the weakest in 2024 and 2025. Those are the days most leisure travellers leave and return, and the extra demand lands on schedules that are already full. The busiest travel days guide shows the same pattern across other long weekends.
The time of day matters more than the day. In the 2026 window, departures between 5am and 8am ran close to nine in ten on time, and departures between 5pm and 8pm little more than six in ten. That gap, which is the same shape as the national year-round figure of 89.3% against 68.0%, dwarfs any difference between the holiday and a normal weekend.
5am–8am5pm–8pm
50.0%95.0%
Figures are on-time percentages. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
A concrete example: Atlanta to Orlando is a classic start-of-summer route. Across the year the morning Delta departure, Delta 1213, runs far better than the mid-afternoon Delta 1742. The Atlanta to Orlando route on Delta shows every flight's figure.
The airports that matter that weekend
Dallas-Fort Worth is the recurring weak spot. In 2024, 2025 and 2026 it ran below two-thirds on time over the weekend and cancelled several times the national rate, most heavily in 2026. Late May is when North Texas storms become frequent, and at DFW the effect is concentrated on American, which flies most of its departures. Below two-thirds on time in three straight years is a record I would not put a Friday afternoon connection behind.
DFW average 72.8%
60.0%90.0%
Carriers with at least 1,000 scheduled flights at the airport. Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, September 2025 to August 2026.
American at Dallas-Fort Worth runs below the airport's average across the year, while its regional partner Envoy at Dallas-Fort Worth runs above it. For a holiday departure from DFW, the practical difference is the hour, not the carrier: Dallas-Fort Worth to Las Vegas is a Memorial Day favourite, and American's morning departure, American 1584, runs far better across the year than its evening one, American 1797. Love Field's figures are no better; Dallas Love Field in May was the least punctual airport in the country for the month in 2026.
Atlanta is the swing airport. It ran well above its normal weeks in 2023 and 2025 and far below them in 2024 and 2026, when it was one of the worst big airports of the weekend. Atlanta in May and Delta at Atlanta show a hub that usually runs well and fails hard when afternoon storms sit over it, because every Delta bank connects through the same airspace.
The West is the safe side of the map. Salt Lake City ran at or above its normal level in all four Memorial Day weekends, and Seattle and Minneapolis beat their baselines in most years. Denver is less predictable: its 2025 weekend was one of the worst of any airport that year.
The Northeast shuttles struggled in 2026. LaGuardia to O'Hare ran far below its normal weeks over the weekend, and so did the Boston to Washington shuttle.
My Memorial Day plan
Leave on Saturday, and consider coming back on Tuesday. Saturday was the best or near-best day every year; Friday and Monday took turns as the worst.
Take the first departure. The early-morning window was close to ninety per cent on time even in the bad years. The best time to fly tool shows the hour pattern for your route.
Route around Dallas-Fort Worth in the afternoon. A connection through Salt Lake City, Seattle or Minneapolis had better odds in every year on record. The connection risk tool sets a buffer for the hub you choose.
Watch the forecast for the southern hubs. The years that went wrong went wrong in Texas and Atlanta. If storms are forecast there for Friday afternoon, moving to Saturday morning costs little.
Do not count on the holiday to help. It beats its normal weeks about half the time. The Fourth of July guide covers the next summer holiday.
Memorial Day weekend by year: 2023 · 2024 · 2025 · 2026 · Dallas-Fort Worth in May · Atlanta in May · Salt Lake City in May