Holiday record
Memorial Day weekend 2023 flight delays
Friday 26 May 2023 to Monday 29 May 2023 · 73,454 flights
Historical statistics for Memorial Day weekend 2023, not live status and not a forecast for a future Memorial Day weekend.
The holiday lifted punctuality: 84.6% of Memorial Day weekend 2023 flights were on time against 79.2% in normal weeks, 5.4 points better. Beyond that, late flights averaged 68 minutes against 67 and cancellations came to 0.46% against 0.70%.
Key figures
On time
84.6%
Normal weeks: 79.2%
Avg delay
68 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 67 min
Cancelled
0.46%
Normal weeks: 0.70%
1 hour+ late
4.9%
Normal weeks: 6.9%
4 days and 73,454 flights: that is the window from Friday 26 May 2023 to Monday 29 May 2023. Its daily schedule of 18,364 flights matched the 18,917 of the weeks around it.
Against normal weeks
Memorial Day weekend 2023 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Memorial Day weekend 2023 | 73,454 | 84.6% | 79.2% | +5.4 | 0.46% | 0.70% |
“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 Memorial Day weekend ran best
Getting away was harder than coming back. The first day, Friday 26 May at 78.2% on time, 0.6 points below the 77.6% of ordinary Fridays, set the low mark. The best day was Sunday 28 May at 89.8%, while Friday 26 May was the busiest, with 19,696 flights scheduled. 0 of the 4 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Compared day for day with ordinary weeks: Fri 26 +0.6, Sat 27 +6.5, Sun 28 +12.0, Mon 29 +8.3 points. Not one day ran below its weekday baseline.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 26 May | 19,696 | 78.2% | 77.6% | +0.6 | 0.71% | 1.23% |
| Saturday 27 May | 16,253 | 86.0% | 79.5% | +6.5 | 0.52% | 0.68% |
| Sunday 28 May | 17,850 | 89.8% | 77.8% | +12.0 | 0.35% | 0.83% |
| Monday 29 May | 19,655 | 85.2% | 76.9% | +8.3 | 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
The later the flight, the worse the odds: 5am–8am departures 93.5% on time, 5pm–8pm departures 76.8%. The 8pm–5am window moved most against its normal weeks, 10.1 points better than 68.6%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 11,828 | 93.5% | 91.6% | +1.9 | 0.39% | 0.56% |
| 8am–11am | 13,659 | 90.6% | 87.7% | +2.9 | 0.36% | 0.39% |
| 11am–2pm | 13,256 | 86.0% | 82.2% | +3.8 | 0.20% | 0.45% |
| 2pm–5pm | 12,706 | 80.6% | 73.8% | +6.8 | 0.35% | 0.78% |
| 5pm–8pm | 12,616 | 76.8% | 68.5% | +8.3 | 0.82% | 1.02% |
| 8pm–5am | 9,389 | 78.7% | 68.6% | +10.1 | 0.70% | 1.11% |
“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 Memorial Day weekend 2023
Most large airports coped better than usual, and only 2 of 41 ran below their normal weeks. Denver (DEN) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 69.5% to 66.8%. The weakest were Denver (DEN) at 66.8%, Honolulu (HNL) at 76.0% and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) at 76.4%; the strongest Minneapolis (MSP) at 92.3%, Houston (HOU) at 90.8% and Detroit (DTW) at 90.6%.
13% of the holiday's departures left from just three airports, Atlanta (ATL, 3,588 departures, 86.8% on time), Denver (DEN, 3,060 departures, 66.8% on time) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 2,976 departures, 77.1% on time).
Going the other way, Houston (IAH, +16.4 points), Dallas (DAL, +14.7 points) and Houston (HOU, +13.8 points) all ran better than their normal weeks.
When flights did run late, how late depended on where. Delayed departures from St. Louis (STL) averaged 86 minutes, against 63 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Honolulu (HNL) the average was 44 minutes.
Some airports took far more of the holiday rush than others. Daily departures rose most at Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +3%), Indianapolis (IND, +3%) and Honolulu (HNL, +2%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −7%). None of the three ran worse than usual, so the extra flights were absorbed.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,588 | 86.8% | 79.8% | +7.0 | 0.11% | 0.36% |
| Denver (DEN) | 3,060 | 66.8% | 69.5% | −2.7 | 2.84% | 0.85% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 2,976 | 77.1% | 70.5% | +6.6 | 0.10% | 1.65% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 2,822 | 86.5% | 81.3% | +5.2 | 0.18% | 0.28% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 2,111 | 86.3% | 79.8% | +6.5 | 0.24% | 0.50% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 2,062 | 76.9% | 63.7% | +13.2 | 0.44% | 1.06% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,020 | 84.4% | 78.1% | +6.3 | 0.10% | 0.60% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 1,840 | 87.4% | 79.6% | +7.8 | 0.27% | 0.27% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,796 | 79.7% | 69.7% | +10.0 | 0.06% | 0.88% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,791 | 82.4% | 77.3% | +5.1 | 0.17% | 0.26% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,703 | 88.9% | 84.7% | +4.2 | 0.41% | 0.96% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,554 | 83.8% | 77.6% | +6.2 | 0.19% | 1.01% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,530 | 83.3% | 85.0% | −1.7 | 0.46% | 0.58% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,526 | 78.7% | 74.3% | +4.4 | 0.33% | 0.48% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,506 | 88.9% | 85.9% | +3.0 | 0.33% | 0.59% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,500 | 86.8% | 83.3% | +3.5 | 0.20% | 0.46% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,328 | 90.6% | 87.6% | +3.0 | 0.00% | 0.37% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,271 | 92.3% | 89.3% | +3.0 | 0.16% | 0.41% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,195 | 86.9% | 70.5% | +16.4 | 0.25% | 1.55% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,117 | 81.5% | 71.1% | +10.4 | 0.27% | 0.44% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,117 | 85.5% | 82.9% | +2.6 | 0.18% | 0.34% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 1,056 | 85.6% | 79.1% | +6.5 | 0.38% | 0.49% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 1,034 | 87.4% | 78.1% | +9.3 | 0.39% | 0.36% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 980 | 85.0% | 78.4% | +6.6 | 0.41% | 0.62% |
| Austin (AUS) | 973 | 89.1% | 76.8% | +12.3 | 0.41% | 0.63% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 964 | 76.4% | 69.3% | +7.1 | 0.10% | 0.64% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 930 | 88.5% | 82.0% | +6.5 | 0.32% | 0.89% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 891 | 89.3% | 78.3% | +11.0 | 0.22% | 0.24% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 844 | 89.0% | 79.5% | +9.5 | 0.12% | 0.63% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 763 | 87.4% | 72.7% | +14.7 | 0.13% | 1.35% |
“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 Memorial Day weekend 2023
Holiday windows are too short for most routes to build a sample: the busiest, OGG to HNL (143 flights, 76.2% on time against 67.8% normally), did not reach 500. The ten busiest are listed below as small samples, and 9 of them ran better than their normal weeks.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 143 | 76.2% | 67.8% | +8.4 | 0.00% | 2.34% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 143 | 82.5% | 76.2% | +6.3 | 0.00% | 2.14% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 142 | 80.9% | 77.8% | +3.1 | 0.70% | 0.40% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 142 | 79.3% | 82.3% | −3.0 | 1.41% | 0.30% |
| LAX to LASsmall sample | 109 | 73.4% | 66.3% | +7.1 | 0.00% | 1.01% |
| LAS to LAXsmall sample | 109 | 66.1% | 64.4% | +1.7 | 0.00% | 1.40% |
| JFK to LAXsmall sample | 107 | 96.3% | 88.7% | +7.6 | 0.00% | 0.51% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 107 | 84.1% | 80.7% | +3.4 | 0.00% | 0.65% |
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 107 | 89.7% | 85.9% | +3.8 | 0.00% | 0.65% |
| LAX to JFKsmall sample | 106 | 78.3% | 76.9% | +1.4 | 0.00% | 0.38% |
“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 Memorial Day weekend 2023
Carrier choice was worth 28.9 points of punctuality over the holiday, from Republic Airways at 92.2% down to Frontier Airlines at 63.3%. JetBlue Airways lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 0.9 points. Spirit Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 13.4 points.
An hour late is where most connections are lost. 4.9% of arrivals over Memorial Day weekend 2023 were an hour or more late, against 6.9% normally, down 2.0 points. Denver (DEN) had the highest share among large airports at 15.1%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 0.46% of flights were called off against 0.70% normally, but Denver (DEN) reached 2.84% and Honolulu (HNL) 0.88%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 15,122 | 85.6% | 76.3% | +9.3 | 0.65% | 0.49% |
| Delta Air Lines | 10,606 | 89.4% | 84.9% | +4.5 | 0.04% | 0.41% |
| American Airlines | 10,061 | 83.1% | 76.0% | +7.1 | 0.00% | 0.57% |
| United Airlines | 7,992 | 81.3% | 76.4% | +4.9 | 0.85% | 0.89% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 7,139 | 86.6% | 86.2% | +0.4 | 1.12% | 0.79% |
| Republic Airways | 3,203 | 92.2% | 89.7% | +2.5 | 0.37% | 0.69% |
| JetBlue Airways | 3,139 | 73.4% | 74.3% | −0.9 | 0.48% | 0.70% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,893 | 81.9% | 68.5% | +13.4 | 0.03% | 1.12% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,750 | 86.5% | 80.1% | +6.4 | 0.29% | 0.44% |
| Envoy Air | 2,182 | 89.0% | 80.7% | +8.3 | 0.00% | 0.46% |
| PSA Airlines | 1,990 | 89.1% | 84.5% | +4.6 | 0.80% | 1.91% |
| Endeavor Air | 1,900 | 90.3% | 89.9% | +0.4 | 0.37% | 0.84% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,882 | 63.3% | 60.9% | +2.4 | 1.22% | 1.99% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,687 | 83.1% | 78.2% | +4.9 | 0.06% | 0.16% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 908 | 71.5% | 67.1% | +4.4 | 0.44% | 2.24% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Year on year
Memorial Day weekend across the years
On-time rate by year: 84.6% in 2023, 72.0% in 2024, 77.9% in 2025 and 74.2% in 2026. 2023 tops that list. By this site's test, 3 years out of 4 had a real holiday effect.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (this page) | 73,454 | 84.6% | 79.2% | +5.4 | 0.46% | 0.70% |
| 2024, close to normal | 77,237 | 72.0% | 74.2% | −2.2 | 1.40% | 1.45% |
| 2025 | 78,097 | 77.9% | 76.6% | +1.3 | 0.65% | 0.82% |
| 2026 | 79,261 | 74.2% | 78.8% | −4.6 | 0.95% | 0.95% |
“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 Memorial Day weekend
Practical points from 2023: Sunday 28 May was the best day to fly; and book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 16.7 points worse than 5am–8am ones. The pattern across years, on the Memorial Day 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
- Memorial Day weekend: every year and the next one
- Memorial Day weekend 2024
- Memorial Day weekend 2025
- Memorial Day weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Memorial Day weekend 2023
- Every US travel holiday
- The holidays that fly better than a normal week
- The busiest US travel days, and what they cost in punctuality
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) all year
- Denver International (DEN) 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.