Holiday record
Easter weekend 2025 flight delays
Friday 18 April 2025 to Monday 21 April 2025 · 78,819 flights
Historical statistics for Easter weekend 2025, not live status and not a forecast for a future Easter weekend.
How late, not how often: over Easter weekend 2025 delayed flights ran 75 minutes behind on average against 69 in the surrounding weeks. Beyond that, the on-time rate was 81.4% against 79.7% and cancellations came to 0.47% against 0.83%.
Key figures
On time
81.4%
Normal weeks: 79.7%
Avg delay
75 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 69 min
Cancelled
0.47%
Normal weeks: 0.83%
1 hour+ late
6.9%
Normal weeks: 7.1%
Between Friday 18 April 2025 to Monday 21 April 2025 airlines scheduled 78,819 flights. Measured per day against the 28 baseline days, the holiday was no busier than usual (19,705 flights a day against 19,492).
Against normal weeks
Easter weekend 2025 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Easter weekend 2025 | 78,819 | 81.4% | 79.7% | +1.7 | 0.47% | 0.83% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Day by day
Which day of Easter weekend ran best
The holiday started badly: its opening day, Friday 18 April at 79.0% on time, 5.6 points below the 73.4% of ordinary Fridays, was the worst of the window. The best day was Saturday 19 April at 85.0%, while Friday 18 April was the busiest, with 20,453 flights scheduled. 0 of the 4 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Day-by-day change against normal weekdays: Fri 18 +5.6, Sat 19 +4.8, Sun 20 +3.6, Mon 21 +3.3 points. Not one day ran below its weekday baseline.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 18 April | 20,453 | 79.0% | 73.4% | +5.6 | 0.82% | 1.00% |
| Saturday 19 April | 17,656 | 85.0% | 80.2% | +4.8 | 0.44% | 1.03% |
| Sunday 20 April | 20,300 | 81.0% | 77.4% | +3.6 | 0.38% | 0.60% |
| Monday 21 April | 20,410 | 81.1% | 77.8% | +3.3 | 0.25% | 0.88% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Here “normal weeks” means the same day of the week in the baseline weeks, so a Sunday is set against the baseline Sundays.
Departure window
The best time of day to fly it
Late departures were the weak spot. 5pm–8pm flights ran 76.0% on time, 12.4 points below the 88.4% of 5am–8am flights. The 5pm–8pm window moved most against its normal weeks, 4.8 points better than 71.2%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 13,131 | 88.4% | 90.2% | −1.8 | 0.23% | 0.56% |
| 8am–11am | 14,367 | 84.4% | 86.1% | −1.7 | 0.45% | 0.64% |
| 11am–2pm | 13,703 | 82.6% | 80.9% | +1.7 | 0.46% | 0.76% |
| 2pm–5pm | 13,704 | 79.0% | 74.8% | +4.2 | 0.51% | 0.97% |
| 5pm–8pm | 13,763 | 76.0% | 71.2% | +4.8 | 0.70% | 1.02% |
| 8pm–5am | 10,151 | 77.3% | 73.2% | +4.1 | 0.49% | 1.09% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Airport by airport
Airports over Easter weekend 2025
Among large airports the on-time rate ran from Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) at 68.1%, Denver (DEN) at 69.6% and Newark (EWR) at 70.2% at the low end to Columbus (CMH) at 89.3%, Portland (PDX) at 88.9% and New York (JFK) at 88.2% at the top. Houston (HOU) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 79.6% to 71.2%. Measured against each airport's own normal weeks, 13 of 44 did worse.
By volume the holiday ran through Chicago (ORD, 3,510 departures, 80.4% on time), Atlanta (ATL, 3,425 departures, 82.9% on time) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 3,403 departures, 68.1% on time), which handled 13% of all departures between them.
Not every airport struggled: Washington (DCA, +10.2 points), New York (LGA, +9.5 points) and Columbus (CMH, +8.8 points) improved on their usual on-time rate.
Delay length varied widely by airport. Delayed departures from Houston (HOU) averaged 112 minutes, against 59 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Honolulu (HNL) the average was 37 minutes.
The holiday reshaped where people flew. Daily departures rose most at Fort Myers (RSW, +6%), Orlando (MCO, +6%) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +5%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −4%). The extra traffic did not cost them punctuality.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago (ORD) | 3,510 | 80.4% | 82.1% | −1.7 | 0.11% | 0.23% |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,425 | 82.9% | 74.4% | +8.5 | 0.29% | 0.86% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 3,403 | 68.1% | 70.3% | −2.2 | 1.06% | 3.67% |
| Denver (DEN) | 3,400 | 69.6% | 77.5% | −7.9 | 2.15% | 0.24% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 2,442 | 80.6% | 81.3% | −0.7 | 0.37% | 0.40% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,304 | 79.7% | 73.3% | +6.4 | 0.09% | 0.67% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 2,217 | 82.7% | 79.8% | +2.9 | 0.14% | 0.42% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 2,119 | 85.6% | 84.1% | +1.5 | 0.09% | 0.24% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,986 | 80.2% | 79.8% | +0.4 | 0.30% | 0.31% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,700 | 83.0% | 79.5% | +3.5 | 0.00% | 0.53% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,683 | 83.3% | 81.3% | +2.0 | 0.00% | 0.18% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,630 | 87.5% | 84.1% | +3.4 | 0.18% | 0.26% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,553 | 86.0% | 75.8% | +10.2 | 0.00% | 0.98% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,447 | 86.6% | 77.1% | +9.5 | 0.07% | 0.72% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,358 | 83.2% | 82.2% | +1.0 | 0.15% | 0.33% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,330 | 81.1% | 75.1% | +6.0 | 0.00% | 0.92% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,281 | 72.6% | 79.2% | −6.6 | 0.39% | 1.32% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,264 | 85.8% | 85.0% | +0.8 | 0.32% | 0.12% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,235 | 70.2% | 70.9% | −0.7 | 3.24% | 3.67% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,222 | 85.0% | 82.8% | +2.2 | 0.41% | 0.19% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 1,199 | 85.8% | 79.4% | +6.4 | 0.25% | 0.90% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 1,184 | 80.8% | 75.5% | +5.3 | 0.17% | 0.64% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,172 | 88.2% | 80.4% | +7.8 | 0.00% | 0.27% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 1,099 | 82.1% | 77.6% | +4.5 | 0.09% | 0.29% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1,081 | 82.8% | 78.8% | +4.0 | 0.19% | 0.54% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 1,073 | 84.1% | 78.8% | +5.3 | 0.28% | 0.67% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 1,004 | 84.6% | 80.4% | +4.2 | 0.10% | 0.68% |
| Austin (AUS) | 979 | 80.7% | 78.7% | +2.0 | 0.31% | 0.90% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 809 | 82.5% | 83.3% | −0.8 | 0.25% | 0.25% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 791 | 80.7% | 74.6% | +6.1 | 0.13% | 2.38% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Route by route
The busiest routes over Easter weekend 2025
Holiday windows are too short for most routes to build a sample: the busiest, LGA to ORD (122 flights, 75.4% on time against 74.1% normally), did not reach 500. The ten busiest are listed below as small samples, and 4 of them ran better than their normal weeks.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 122 | 75.4% | 74.1% | +1.3 | 0.00% | 0.22% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 122 | 77.0% | 78.4% | −1.4 | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 121 | 90.9% | 84.0% | +6.9 | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 120 | 81.7% | 80.1% | +1.6 | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| PHX to DENsmall sample | 117 | 72.6% | 73.8% | −1.2 | 3.42% | 0.76% |
| LAX to JFKsmall sample | 113 | 91.2% | 81.6% | +9.6 | 0.00% | 0.13% |
| JFK to LAXsmall sample | 113 | 84.8% | 85.6% | −0.8 | 0.00% | 0.25% |
| DEN to PHXsmall sample | 111 | 65.4% | 76.9% | −11.5 | 3.60% | 0.66% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 109 | 86.1% | 92.5% | −6.4 | 0.92% | 0.76% |
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 109 | 88.0% | 90.4% | −2.4 | 0.92% | 0.75% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Carrier by carrier
Airlines over Easter weekend 2025
Carrier choice was worth 16.3 points of punctuality over the holiday, from Republic Airways at 88.3% down to Frontier Airlines at 72.0%. United Airlines lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 3.4 points. PSA Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 11.8 points.
For connections, the hour-late figure matters more than the on-time rate. 6.9% of arrivals over Easter weekend 2025 were an hour or more late, against 7.1% normally, essentially unchanged. Houston (HOU) had the highest share among large airports at 16.5%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 0.47% of flights were called off against 0.83% normally, but Newark (EWR) reached 3.24% and Denver (DEN) 2.15%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 15,714 | 81.0% | 80.5% | +0.5 | 0.45% | 0.46% |
| Delta Air Lines | 11,417 | 86.8% | 81.1% | +5.7 | 0.04% | 0.46% |
| American Airlines | 10,945 | 76.5% | 75.1% | +1.4 | 0.46% | 1.43% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 9,318 | 81.1% | 83.1% | −2.0 | 0.85% | 0.64% |
| United Airlines | 8,546 | 77.7% | 81.1% | −3.4 | 0.34% | 0.64% |
| Republic Airways | 3,669 | 88.3% | 81.7% | +6.6 | 1.50% | 1.32% |
| Envoy Air | 3,252 | 79.3% | 78.9% | +0.4 | 0.43% | 2.31% |
| PSA Airlines | 2,802 | 84.2% | 72.4% | +11.8 | 0.04% | 2.10% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2,730 | 72.0% | 73.9% | −1.9 | 2.16% | 0.79% |
| JetBlue Airways | 2,717 | 86.4% | 80.2% | +6.2 | 0.04% | 0.30% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,541 | 84.0% | 80.9% | +3.1 | 0.31% | 0.85% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,488 | 84.4% | 79.9% | +4.5 | 0.12% | 0.39% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,824 | 84.7% | 77.9% | +6.8 | 0.00% | 0.11% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 856 | 81.9% | 83.1% | −1.2 | 0.12% | 0.92% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Year on year
Easter weekend across the years
Set against other years, 2025 ranks 3 of 4 for punctuality (83.2% in 2023, 82.4% in 2024, 81.4% in 2025 and 78.2% in 2026). 3 of them cleared the measurable-effect test.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 74,691 | 83.2% | 76.1% | +7.1 | 0.56% | 1.76% |
| 2024 | 77,640 | 82.4% | 79.0% | +3.4 | 0.27% | 0.83% |
| 2025 (this page) | 78,819 | 81.4% | 79.7% | +1.7 | 0.47% | 0.83% |
| 2026, close to normal | 80,633 | 78.2% | 80.1% | −1.9 | 1.57% | 0.92% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
What to do with this
Planning around Easter weekend
Practical points from 2025: Saturday 19 April was the best day to fly; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 12.4 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Houston (HOU) and Denver (DEN). The pattern across years, on the Easter weekend overview, is the safer guide.
On time means arriving less than 15 minutes after the scheduled gate time. Average delay counts delayed flights only; cancellations are a share of every scheduled flight. A holiday is compared with the two weeks either side of it, leaving out days that belong to other holidays. The measurable-effect test asks for 3 points of on-time rate, 5 minutes of average delay or 2 points of cancellations; airports, routes and carriers need 500 flights in the window to be ranked. The US DOT publishes on-time data about two months after the month it covers.
Related
Where to go next
- Easter weekend: every year and the next one
- Easter weekend 2023
- Easter weekend 2024
- Easter weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Easter weekend 2025
- Every US travel holiday
- The holidays that fly better than a normal week
- The busiest US travel days, and what they cost in punctuality
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) all year
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) all year
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) all year
Holiday comparisons use US DOT on-time data from December 2022 to June 2026. Methodology.
Source: US DOT Bureau of Transportation Statistics, on-time performance data, July 2025 to June 2026. Last updated 15 September 2026; recomputed monthly. How this data is collected.