Holiday record
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 flight delays
Friday 12 January 2024 to Monday 15 January 2024 · 70,276 flights
Historical statistics for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024, not live status and not a forecast for a future Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 was a hard holiday to fly. The on-time rate fell to 59.0% from 76.4% in the weeks around it, a drop of 17.4 points that is several times what ordinary week-to-week variation produces. Beyond that, late flights averaged 89 minutes against 74 and cancellations came to 10.42% against 3.31%.
Key figures
On time
59.0%
Normal weeks: 76.4%
Avg delay
89 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 74 min
Cancelled
10.42%
Normal weeks: 3.31%
1 hour+ late
17.9%
Normal weeks: 8.5%
The window ran from Friday 12 January 2024 to Monday 15 January 2024, 4 days carrying 70,276 scheduled flights. That is about 17,569 a day against 17,691 a day across the 22 baseline days, almost exactly the same daily schedule.
Against normal weeks
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 | 70,276 | 59.0% | 76.4% | −17.4 | 10.42% | 3.31% |
“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 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend ran best
Monday 15 January at 50.2% on time closed the window as its worst day, 27.7 points below the 77.9% of ordinary Mondays. The best day was Saturday 13 January at 63.9%, while Monday 15 January was the busiest, with 18,620 flights scheduled. 4 of the 4 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Day-by-day change against normal weekdays: Fri 12 −16.1, Sat 13 −14.6, Sun 14 −17.1, Mon 15 −27.7 points. The longest bad stretch ran 4 days, from Friday 12 January to Monday 15 January.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 12 January | 18,590 | 60.7% | 76.8% | −16.1 | 10.41% | 2.50% |
| Saturday 13 January | 15,483 | 63.9% | 78.5% | −14.6 | 6.54% | 2.02% |
| Sunday 14 January | 17,583 | 61.3% | 78.4% | −17.1 | 8.01% | 1.88% |
| Monday 15 January | 18,620 | 50.2% | 77.9% | −27.7 | 15.91% | 2.85% |
“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 72.5% on time, 5pm–8pm departures 48.1%. The 5pm–8pm window moved most against its normal weeks, 22.8 points worse than 70.9%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 11,358 | 72.5% | 84.2% | −11.7 | 9.22% | 3.88% |
| 8am–11am | 13,143 | 66.4% | 79.6% | −13.2 | 8.64% | 3.36% |
| 11am–2pm | 12,856 | 58.9% | 76.0% | −17.1 | 9.16% | 2.77% |
| 2pm–5pm | 12,772 | 53.5% | 73.0% | −19.5 | 10.76% | 3.03% |
| 5pm–8pm | 12,330 | 48.1% | 70.9% | −22.8 | 12.93% | 3.49% |
| 8pm–5am | 7,817 | 51.9% | 74.4% | −22.5 | 12.70% | 3.45% |
“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 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024
Among large airports the on-time rate ran from Chicago (ORD) at 18.3%, Chicago (MDW) at 30.5% and Detroit (DTW) at 31.1% at the low end to Honolulu (HNL) at 79.7%, San Francisco (SFO) at 77.9% and Sacramento (SMF) at 77.7% at the top. Chicago (ORD) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 69.1% to 18.3%. Measured against each airport's own normal weeks, 37 of 38 did worse.
By volume the holiday ran through Atlanta (ATL, 3,326 departures, 67.8% on time), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 3,073 departures, 40.9% on time) and Denver (DEN, 2,983 departures, 35.9% on time), which handled 13% of all departures between them.
The one large airport that did better than usual was Honolulu (HNL, +0.8 points).
When flights did run late, how late depended on where. Delayed departures from Nashville (BNA) averaged 143 minutes, against 78 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Honolulu (HNL) the average was 50 minutes.
Some airports took far more of the holiday rush than others. Daily departures rose most at Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +6%), Las Vegas (LAS, +3%) and Tampa (TPA, +3%), and fell most at Minneapolis (MSP, −5%). All three ran below their normal on-time rate, which fits airports stretched by the extra schedule.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,326 | 67.8% | 78.7% | −10.9 | 3.31% | 0.85% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 3,073 | 40.9% | 70.9% | −30.0 | 11.45% | 1.81% |
| Denver (DEN) | 2,983 | 35.9% | 76.9% | −41.0 | 16.02% | 3.06% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 2,545 | 18.3% | 69.1% | −50.8 | 26.92% | 5.04% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,089 | 59.8% | 72.0% | −12.2 | 4.26% | 1.82% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 1,990 | 68.9% | 79.0% | −10.1 | 7.04% | 2.17% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 1,956 | 70.7% | 78.9% | −8.2 | 6.80% | 1.64% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 1,915 | 75.7% | 80.6% | −4.9 | 7.00% | 3.06% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,897 | 58.1% | 73.9% | −15.8 | 7.33% | 2.71% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,616 | 59.2% | 78.6% | −19.4 | 6.99% | 5.03% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,495 | 54.8% | 77.2% | −22.4 | 12.71% | 5.60% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,480 | 65.5% | 74.5% | −9.0 | 13.24% | 9.02% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,332 | 54.4% | 69.6% | −15.2 | 5.33% | 2.57% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,320 | 72.1% | 78.6% | −6.5 | 10.00% | 7.78% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,298 | 65.9% | 74.7% | −8.8 | 4.31% | 3.70% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,290 | 77.9% | 78.5% | −0.6 | 10.00% | 6.14% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,239 | 61.4% | 76.5% | −15.1 | 4.04% | 3.38% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,199 | 31.1% | 71.4% | −40.3 | 17.60% | 1.66% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,183 | 67.0% | 76.7% | −9.7 | 3.80% | 0.79% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,177 | 53.0% | 82.0% | −29.0 | 6.97% | 1.37% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1,149 | 53.5% | 71.4% | −17.9 | 7.05% | 3.07% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,139 | 61.5% | 74.0% | −12.5 | 18.26% | 5.56% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 961 | 55.0% | 76.3% | −21.3 | 24.97% | 5.23% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 946 | 43.6% | 72.0% | −28.4 | 8.35% | 3.63% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 905 | 69.9% | 80.0% | −10.1 | 8.07% | 2.88% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 904 | 57.4% | 73.0% | −15.6 | 5.20% | 2.75% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 903 | 75.1% | 81.6% | −6.5 | 8.64% | 5.38% |
| Austin (AUS) | 824 | 53.6% | 76.3% | −22.7 | 12.74% | 2.47% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 743 | 54.2% | 76.9% | −22.7 | 17.23% | 1.97% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 723 | 30.5% | 73.9% | −43.4 | 35.68% | 5.64% |
“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 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024
Holiday windows are too short for most routes to build a sample: the busiest, OGG to HNL (132 flights, 76.7% on time against 75.4% normally), did not reach 500. The ten busiest are listed below as small samples, and 3 of them ran better than their normal weeks.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 132 | 76.7% | 75.4% | +1.3 | 2.27% | 1.97% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 131 | 80.6% | 80.5% | +0.1 | 1.53% | 1.85% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 109 | 77.6% | 79.0% | −1.4 | 10.09% | 4.90% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 109 | 75.8% | 64.1% | +11.7 | 9.17% | 5.38% |
| LAX to LASsmall sample | 106 | 66.0% | 78.4% | −12.4 | 5.66% | 3.64% |
| LAS to LAXsmall sample | 104 | 65.3% | 79.1% | −13.8 | 5.77% | 4.19% |
| ATL to MCOsmall sample | 101 | 72.4% | 74.6% | −2.2 | 2.97% | 0.18% |
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 101 | 37.0% | 78.6% | −41.6 | 18.81% | 5.16% |
| MCO to ATLsmall sample | 101 | 66.3% | 74.4% | −8.1 | 0.00% | 0.18% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 101 | 20.7% | 71.7% | −51.0 | 18.81% | 4.98% |
“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 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024
The airline mattered a great deal. Hawaiian Airlines ran 73.5% on time and Envoy Air 44.5%, a 29.0 points gap across 15 carriers. Envoy Air lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 28.2 points. Hawaiian Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 1.4 points.
For connections, the hour-late figure matters more than the on-time rate. 17.9% of arrivals over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 were an hour or more late, against 8.5% normally, up 9.4 points. Chicago (ORD) had the highest share among large airports at 50.3%.
Cancellations spiked: 10.42% of all flights, more than double the 3.31% of normal weeks. The worst-hit were Chicago (MDW) at 35.68%, Chicago (ORD) at 26.92% and Nashville (BNA) at 24.97%, and Alaska Airlines cancelled the most among carriers at 25.56%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 14,594 | 55.6% | 77.4% | −21.8 | 12.85% | 2.05% |
| American Airlines | 9,907 | 52.8% | 70.9% | −18.1 | 5.15% | 1.33% |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,366 | 65.7% | 81.6% | −15.9 | 3.07% | 0.35% |
| United Airlines | 7,466 | 55.5% | 79.1% | −23.6 | 16.54% | 8.25% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 7,249 | 59.1% | 75.9% | −16.8 | 16.03% | 2.92% |
| Republic Airways | 2,976 | 69.7% | 83.2% | −13.5 | 9.81% | 4.60% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,813 | 63.8% | 74.4% | −10.6 | 5.23% | 1.07% |
| Envoy Air | 2,659 | 44.5% | 72.7% | −28.2 | 15.76% | 3.46% |
| JetBlue Airways | 2,531 | 62.9% | 71.9% | −9.0 | 2.33% | 1.97% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,289 | 59.2% | 71.0% | −11.8 | 25.56% | 19.75% |
| Endeavor Air | 2,128 | 62.9% | 75.6% | −12.7 | 8.83% | 4.22% |
| PSA Airlines | 2,096 | 67.0% | 72.4% | −5.4 | 11.59% | 5.96% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2,019 | 57.7% | 73.8% | −16.1 | 7.58% | 1.55% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,323 | 65.5% | 79.7% | −14.2 | 10.66% | 0.85% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 860 | 73.5% | 72.1% | +1.4 | 2.67% | 1.37% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Year on year
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend across the years
2024 was the weakest Martin Luther King Jr. weekend in the data: 80.1% in 2023, 59.0% in 2024, 79.9% in 2025 and 76.8% in 2026. 4 of those 4 years showed a measurable holiday effect.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 68,366 | 80.1% | 79.2% | +0.9 | 0.45% | 1.60% |
| 2024 (this page) | 70,276 | 59.0% | 76.4% | −17.4 | 10.42% | 3.31% |
| 2025 | 68,574 | 79.9% | 81.9% | −2.0 | 1.85% | 3.29% |
| 2026 | 70,081 | 76.8% | 80.3% | −3.5 | 0.74% | 5.54% |
“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 Martin Luther King Jr. weekend
Practical points from 2024: avoid the final day of the window, the worst of 2024; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 24.4 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Chicago (ORD) and Chicago (MDW). The pattern across years, on the Martin Luther King Jr. 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
- Martin Luther King Jr. weekend: every year and the next one
- Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2023
- Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025
- Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024
- 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
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) all year
- Denver International (DEN) 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.