Holiday record
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025 flight delays
Friday 17 January 2025 to Monday 20 January 2025 · 68,574 flights
Historical statistics for Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025, not live status and not a forecast for a future Martin Luther King Jr. weekend.
The share of late flights over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025 was not the story; the length of the delays was. Late arrivals averaged 64 minutes against 73 in the surrounding weeks, a gap of 8 minutes. Beyond that, the on-time rate was 79.9% against 81.9% and cancellations came to 1.85% against 3.29%.
Key figures
On time
79.9%
Normal weeks: 81.9%
Avg delay
64 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 73 min
Cancelled
1.85%
Normal weeks: 3.29%
1 hour+ late
6.3%
Normal weeks: 6.3%
Counted from Friday 17 January 2025 to Monday 20 January 2025, the holiday put 68,574 flights on the schedule over 4 days. Day for day the schedule barely changed, 17,144 flights against 17,297 in the weeks around it.
Against normal weeks
Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025 | 68,574 | 79.9% | 81.9% | −2.0 | 1.85% | 3.29% |
“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
The final day, Monday 20 January at 69.1% on time, was the weakest of the window, 11.9 points below the 81.0% of ordinary Mondays. The best day was Friday 17 January at 87.7%, while Monday 20 January was the busiest, with 18,595 flights scheduled. 2 of the 4 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Against the same weekday in normal weeks, day by day: Fri 17 +7.0, Sat 18 +9.2, Sun 19 −2.7, Mon 20 −11.9 points. No more than two days in a row ran below the weekday baseline, so the weak days were isolated rather than a sustained slowdown.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 17 January | 18,415 | 87.7% | 80.7% | +7.0 | 0.11% | 6.01% |
| Saturday 18 January | 14,690 | 87.7% | 78.5% | +9.2 | 0.06% | 1.65% |
| Sunday 19 January | 16,874 | 76.2% | 78.9% | −2.7 | 4.76% | 2.33% |
| Monday 20 January | 18,595 | 69.1% | 81.0% | −11.9 | 2.36% | 3.00% |
“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
Departure time mattered more than the date. Flights leaving 5am–8am ran 86.8% on time, and by 5pm–8pm that had fallen to 73.9%, 12.9 points lower. The 5pm–8pm window moved most against its normal weeks, 4.9 points worse than 78.8%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 10,861 | 86.8% | 86.7% | +0.1 | 1.30% | 3.85% |
| 8am–11am | 13,402 | 84.3% | 84.1% | +0.2 | 0.84% | 3.23% |
| 11am–2pm | 12,807 | 80.8% | 82.1% | −1.3 | 0.91% | 2.87% |
| 2pm–5pm | 12,527 | 76.8% | 79.8% | −3.0 | 1.90% | 3.02% |
| 5pm–8pm | 11,755 | 73.9% | 78.8% | −4.9 | 3.10% | 3.27% |
| 8pm–5am | 7,222 | 74.5% | 79.0% | −4.5 | 4.14% | 3.84% |
“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 2025
The picture split by airport, with 23 of 38 large airports below their normal weeks and the rest above. Denver (DEN) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 78.7% to 61.3%. The weakest were Denver (DEN) at 61.3%, Philadelphia (PHL) at 61.3% and Washington (DCA) at 66.8%; the strongest Honolulu (HNL) at 91.1%, Los Angeles (LAX) at 88.5% and Phoenix (PHX) at 88.1%.
The biggest airports carried the most weight: Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 3,173 departures, 83.5% on time), Denver (DEN, 3,162 departures, 61.3% on time) and Atlanta (ATL, 3,052 departures, 80.9% on time), together 14% of every departure in the window.
Going the other way, Detroit (DTW, +7.1 points), Honolulu (HNL, +6.2 points) and Chicago (ORD, +6.1 points) all ran better than their normal weeks.
Delay length varied widely by airport. Delayed departures from Minneapolis (MSP) averaged 84 minutes, against 69 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Chicago (MDW) the average was 44 minutes.
The extra holiday flying was concentrated in a handful of places. Daily departures rose most at Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +4%), Orlando (MCO, +4%) and Tampa (TPA, +3%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −8%). Each of them paid for the extra flights with a lower on-time rate.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 3,173 | 83.5% | 78.4% | +5.1 | 0.91% | 7.25% |
| Denver (DEN) | 3,162 | 61.3% | 78.7% | −17.4 | 0.79% | 1.38% |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,052 | 80.9% | 77.0% | +3.9 | 0.95% | 5.82% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 2,726 | 85.1% | 79.0% | +6.1 | 1.36% | 1.82% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,134 | 80.4% | 81.4% | −1.0 | 1.31% | 5.18% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 1,984 | 88.1% | 88.1% | 0.0 | 0.50% | 1.05% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 1,969 | 81.0% | 85.9% | −4.9 | 0.76% | 1.24% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 1,885 | 88.5% | 87.0% | +1.5 | 1.06% | 1.22% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,726 | 77.8% | 82.8% | −5.0 | 1.56% | 1.65% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,507 | 83.3% | 80.9% | +2.4 | 0.33% | 1.54% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,504 | 66.8% | 77.5% | −10.7 | 6.85% | 9.87% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,353 | 87.1% | 84.7% | +2.4 | 0.52% | 1.07% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,333 | 71.0% | 79.7% | −8.7 | 1.35% | 2.25% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,320 | 74.4% | 79.7% | −5.3 | 8.03% | 2.21% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,317 | 71.4% | 79.1% | −7.7 | 7.14% | 1.71% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,289 | 75.1% | 81.2% | −6.1 | 7.60% | 1.26% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,186 | 84.0% | 81.7% | +2.3 | 2.87% | 6.02% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,175 | 85.6% | 85.6% | 0.0 | 0.60% | 0.92% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,151 | 83.0% | 75.9% | +7.1 | 0.96% | 1.61% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,052 | 80.4% | 82.7% | −2.3 | 1.33% | 1.11% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,050 | 70.8% | 80.9% | −10.1 | 5.24% | 1.26% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1,041 | 73.7% | 80.2% | −6.5 | 2.98% | 2.14% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 923 | 79.8% | 84.4% | −4.6 | 1.95% | 4.74% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 907 | 86.0% | 85.6% | +0.4 | 0.88% | 1.19% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 904 | 74.6% | 83.2% | −8.6 | 1.77% | 4.89% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 850 | 61.3% | 78.4% | −17.1 | 4.12% | 2.71% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 847 | 73.6% | 83.9% | −10.3 | 2.01% | 2.00% |
| Austin (AUS) | 760 | 84.7% | 86.4% | −1.7 | 0.66% | 2.71% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 716 | 85.6% | 86.6% | −1.0 | 1.40% | 5.72% |
| Honolulu (HNL) | 659 | 91.1% | 84.9% | +6.2 | 0.46% | 2.08% |
“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 2025
No route reached 500 flights over the 4 days, so none is ranked. The busiest were OGG to HNL (124 flights, 95.2% on time against 87.1% normally), HNL to OGG (124 flights, 96.0% on time against 90.4% normally) and LGA to ORD (116 flights, 86.4% on time against 82.2% normally); 6 of the ten busiest beat their normal weeks, and all ten appear below with a small-sample mark.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 124 | 95.2% | 87.1% | +8.1 | 0.00% | 2.32% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 124 | 96.0% | 90.4% | +5.6 | 0.00% | 2.45% |
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 116 | 86.4% | 82.2% | +4.2 | 11.21% | 0.48% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 116 | 90.2% | 77.0% | +13.2 | 10.34% | 0.24% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 111 | 90.1% | 84.7% | +5.4 | 0.00% | 0.00% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 110 | 88.2% | 78.1% | +10.1 | 0.00% | 0.14% |
| DCA to BOSsmall sample | 101 | 70.1% | 87.2% | −17.1 | 13.86% | 6.00% |
| LAX to JFKsmall sample | 101 | 82.7% | 90.2% | −7.5 | 0.99% | 0.30% |
| BOS to DCAsmall sample | 101 | 68.6% | 82.2% | −13.6 | 14.85% | 6.27% |
| JFK to LAXsmall sample | 100 | 85.9% | 88.4% | −2.5 | 1.00% | 0.30% |
“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 2025
24.3 points separated the best carrier from the worst: Hawaiian Airlines at 92.5%, JetBlue Airways at 68.2%. JetBlue Airways lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 9.2 points. Hawaiian Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 9.3 points.
The number that decides a missed connection is the share of flights an hour or more late. 6.3% of arrivals over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2025 were an hour or more late, against 6.3% normally, essentially unchanged. Philadelphia (PHL) had the highest share among large airports at 13.9%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 1.85% of flights were called off against 3.29% normally, but New York (LGA) reached 8.03% and Newark (EWR) 7.60%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 13,374 | 82.4% | 86.4% | −4.0 | 0.93% | 3.20% |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,603 | 81.5% | 80.7% | +0.8 | 0.57% | 3.11% |
| American Airlines | 9,414 | 80.5% | 81.5% | −1.0 | 0.84% | 4.18% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 8,159 | 78.6% | 79.1% | −0.5 | 1.48% | 2.36% |
| United Airlines | 7,844 | 80.1% | 83.2% | −3.1 | 1.72% | 1.94% |
| Republic Airways | 3,451 | 80.8% | 84.4% | −3.6 | 8.81% | 3.31% |
| Envoy Air | 2,724 | 84.4% | 82.2% | +2.2 | 0.15% | 5.41% |
| PSA Airlines | 2,667 | 69.2% | 74.3% | −5.1 | 4.31% | 10.55% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,339 | 81.2% | 83.7% | −2.5 | 4.53% | 3.13% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,324 | 83.7% | 81.0% | +2.7 | 0.39% | 2.13% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2,269 | 68.9% | 75.9% | −7.0 | 1.76% | 2.64% |
| JetBlue Airways | 2,234 | 68.2% | 77.4% | −9.2 | 7.88% | 0.95% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,322 | 76.2% | 79.2% | −3.0 | 0.15% | 1.47% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 850 | 92.5% | 83.2% | +9.3 | 0.12% | 2.21% |
“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
2025 sits in the middle of the 4 years in the data: 80.1% in 2023, 59.0% in 2024, 79.9% in 2025 and 76.8% in 2026. A measurable effect turned up in 4 of the 4.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 68,366 | 80.1% | 79.2% | +0.9 | 0.45% | 1.60% |
| 2024 | 70,276 | 59.0% | 76.4% | −17.4 | 10.42% | 3.31% |
| 2025 (this page) | 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
What 2025 suggests for a future Martin Luther King Jr. weekend: avoid the final day of the window, the worst of 2025; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 12.9 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Denver (DEN) and Philadelphia (PHL). A single year can be decided by one storm, so weigh it against the other years before planning around it.
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 2024
- Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Martin Luther King Jr. 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
- Dallas/Fort Worth International (DFW) all year
- Denver International (DEN) all year
- Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International (ATL) 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.