Holiday record
Presidents Day weekend 2023 flight delays
Friday 17 February 2023 to Monday 20 February 2023 · 71,995 flights
Historical statistics for Presidents Day weekend 2023, not live status and not a forecast for a future Presidents Day weekend.
Anyone who avoided Presidents Day weekend 2023 expecting chaos avoided a normal week. 82.0% of flights landed on time, against 80.5% either side of it; the 62-minute average delay compares with 66, and cancellations came to 0.44% against 1.55%.
Key figures
On time
82.0%
Normal weeks: 80.5%
Avg delay
62 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 66 min
Cancelled
0.44%
Normal weeks: 1.55%
1 hour+ late
5.2%
Normal weeks: 6.0%
Counted from Friday 17 February 2023 to Monday 20 February 2023, the holiday put 71,995 flights on the schedule over 4 days. Day for day the schedule barely changed, 17,999 flights against 18,042 in the weeks around it.
Against normal weeks
Presidents Day weekend 2023 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Presidents Day weekend 2023 | 71,995 | 82.0% | 80.5% | +1.5 | 0.44% | 1.55% |
“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 Presidents Day weekend ran best
Getting away was harder than coming back. The first day, Friday 17 February at 72.1% on time, 4.1 points below the 76.2% of ordinary Fridays, set the low mark. The best day was Sunday 19 February at 87.5%, while Monday 20 February was the busiest, with 19,042 flights scheduled. 1 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 −4.1, Sat 18 +4.7, Sun 19 +6.2, Mon 20 +0.3 points. No more than one day 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 February | 19,009 | 72.1% | 76.2% | −4.1 | 1.12% | 1.71% |
| Saturday 18 February | 16,027 | 85.0% | 80.3% | +4.7 | 0.17% | 1.34% |
| Sunday 19 February | 17,917 | 87.5% | 81.3% | +6.2 | 0.23% | 0.46% |
| Monday 20 February | 19,042 | 84.2% | 83.9% | +0.3 | 0.20% | 0.77% |
“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
Delays built through the day and peaked late: 75.8% on time for 8pm–5am departures against 90.0% for 5am–8am. The 5am–8am window moved most against its normal weeks, 1.9 points better than 88.1%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 11,495 | 90.0% | 88.1% | +1.9 | 0.51% | 1.72% |
| 8am–11am | 13,151 | 86.5% | 84.8% | +1.7 | 0.33% | 1.33% |
| 11am–2pm | 13,002 | 82.8% | 81.0% | +1.8 | 0.46% | 1.24% |
| 2pm–5pm | 12,808 | 79.1% | 77.5% | +1.6 | 0.48% | 1.37% |
| 5pm–8pm | 12,428 | 76.7% | 75.2% | +1.5 | 0.51% | 1.79% |
| 8pm–5am | 9,111 | 75.8% | 75.3% | +0.5 | 0.35% | 2.05% |
“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 Presidents Day weekend 2023
Among large airports the on-time rate ran from Honolulu (HNL) at 53.9%, Newark (EWR) at 71.9% and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) at 76.5% at the low end to Salt Lake City (SLC) at 89.1%, Portland (PDX) at 87.6% and Sacramento (SMF) at 87.4% at the top. Honolulu (HNL) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 77.0% to 53.9%. Measured against each airport's own normal weeks, 13 of 39 did worse.
The biggest airports carried the most weight: Atlanta (ATL, 3,422 departures, 82.2% on time), Denver (DEN, 2,986 departures, 84.2% on time) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 2,830 departures, 81.6% on time), together 13% of every departure in the window.
Best against their own normal weeks: Salt Lake City (SLC, +11.4 points), Denver (DEN, +10.6 points) and Las Vegas (LAS, +7.7 points).
How long a delay lasted depended heavily on the airport. Delayed departures from Houston (HOU) averaged 109 minutes, against 44 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Dallas (DAL) the average was 41 minutes.
The extra holiday flying was concentrated in a handful of places. Daily departures rose most at New Orleans (MSY, +4%), Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +4%) and Orlando (MCO, +4%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −7%). One of those three ran below its normal on-time rate.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,422 | 82.2% | 84.4% | −2.2 | 0.12% | 0.65% |
| Denver (DEN) | 2,986 | 84.2% | 73.6% | +10.6 | 0.37% | 2.08% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 2,830 | 81.6% | 76.4% | +5.2 | 0.11% | 1.52% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 2,778 | 82.2% | 78.5% | +3.7 | 0.36% | 1.73% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 2,015 | 81.1% | 73.4% | +7.7 | 0.55% | 1.35% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,014 | 80.7% | 83.5% | −2.8 | 0.00% | 0.54% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 1,970 | 84.3% | 81.2% | +3.1 | 0.20% | 1.36% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 1,932 | 85.0% | 79.7% | +5.3 | 0.41% | 1.24% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,849 | 78.1% | 76.2% | +1.9 | 0.16% | 0.79% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,749 | 77.7% | 81.4% | −3.7 | 0.80% | 2.18% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,596 | 78.8% | 80.0% | −1.2 | 0.44% | 1.81% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,562 | 71.9% | 75.2% | −3.3 | 0.32% | 1.15% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,540 | 77.6% | 75.9% | +1.7 | 0.26% | 1.47% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,527 | 83.7% | 83.9% | −0.2 | 0.52% | 1.09% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,502 | 79.6% | 72.7% | +6.9 | 0.40% | 3.04% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,397 | 87.4% | 79.9% | +7.5 | 0.21% | 1.29% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,286 | 83.3% | 82.7% | +0.6 | 0.16% | 3.82% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,241 | 81.7% | 81.2% | +0.5 | 0.08% | 0.62% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,228 | 83.5% | 82.3% | +1.2 | 0.24% | 4.40% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,157 | 77.4% | 77.3% | +0.1 | 0.17% | 0.42% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,151 | 89.1% | 77.7% | +11.4 | 0.26% | 1.86% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1,069 | 76.5% | 74.8% | +1.7 | 0.37% | 0.58% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 975 | 83.7% | 83.9% | −0.2 | 0.62% | 1.84% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 937 | 80.7% | 81.6% | −0.9 | 0.11% | 0.97% |
| Austin (AUS) | 932 | 83.9% | 83.0% | +0.9 | 0.21% | 0.99% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 909 | 83.7% | 81.0% | +2.7 | 0.22% | 0.83% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 882 | 86.5% | 85.5% | +1.0 | 0.45% | 0.89% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 873 | 82.9% | 81.8% | +1.1 | 0.11% | 0.58% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 801 | 83.8% | 82.4% | +1.4 | 0.37% | 2.69% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 757 | 86.0% | 85.5% | +0.5 | 0.66% | 1.56% |
“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 Presidents Day weekend 2023
Short holiday windows spread traffic thin across routes: the busiest, OGG to HNL (135 flights, 61.9% on time against 82.9% normally), stayed under 500 flights. The ten busiest appear below with their figures marked as small samples; 7 of them beat their normal weeks.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 135 | 61.9% | 82.9% | −21.0 | 0.74% | 1.39% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 135 | 61.7% | 79.9% | −18.2 | 1.48% | 1.28% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 118 | 89.8% | 73.6% | +16.2 | 0.00% | 1.41% |
| DCA to BOSsmall sample | 117 | 88.0% | 82.8% | +5.2 | 0.00% | 2.39% |
| BOS to DCAsmall sample | 117 | 86.2% | 81.1% | +5.1 | 0.00% | 2.16% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 116 | 91.4% | 80.7% | +10.7 | 0.00% | 1.77% |
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 115 | 81.1% | 78.1% | +3.0 | 3.48% | 1.52% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 115 | 69.0% | 79.6% | −10.6 | 1.74% | 1.52% |
| LAS to LAXsmall sample | 113 | 85.8% | 71.0% | +14.8 | 0.00% | 1.59% |
| LAX to LASsmall sample | 113 | 76.1% | 69.8% | +6.3 | 0.00% | 1.46% |
“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 Presidents Day weekend 2023
32.0 points separated the best carrier from the worst: Endeavor Air at 87.5%, Hawaiian Airlines at 55.5%. Hawaiian Airlines lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 19.8 points. SkyWest Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 7.0 points.
An hour late is where most connections are lost. 5.2% of arrivals over Presidents Day weekend 2023 were an hour or more late, against 6.0% normally, down 0.8 points. New York (LGA) had the highest share among large airports at 10.8%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 0.44% of flights were called off against 1.55% normally, but Houston (HOU) reached 7.87% and New York (LGA) 0.80%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 14,199 | 84.5% | 83.2% | +1.3 | 0.76% | 1.54% |
| American Airlines | 10,097 | 80.3% | 78.1% | +2.2 | 0.12% | 0.87% |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,755 | 83.8% | 83.1% | +0.7 | 0.25% | 1.73% |
| United Airlines | 7,678 | 81.9% | 78.5% | +3.4 | 0.25% | 0.71% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 7,443 | 87.1% | 80.1% | +7.0 | 0.55% | 2.70% |
| JetBlue Airways | 3,306 | 73.7% | 71.1% | +2.6 | 0.39% | 1.97% |
| Republic Airways | 3,193 | 85.2% | 86.6% | −1.4 | 0.31% | 1.95% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,921 | 79.9% | 74.9% | +5.0 | 0.07% | 1.10% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,587 | 73.7% | 77.6% | −3.9 | 0.97% | 3.22% |
| Envoy Air | 2,432 | 86.1% | 83.4% | +2.7 | 0.62% | 1.37% |
| Endeavor Air | 1,978 | 87.5% | 88.1% | −0.6 | 0.30% | 2.67% |
| PSA Airlines | 1,976 | 85.1% | 88.1% | −3.0 | 0.35% | 0.73% |
| Frontier Airlines | 1,923 | 71.5% | 69.6% | +1.9 | 1.14% | 1.31% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,648 | 74.9% | 74.8% | +0.1 | 0.42% | 0.72% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 859 | 55.5% | 75.3% | −19.8 | 1.05% | 0.62% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Year on year
Presidents Day weekend across the years
Of the 4 Presidents Day weekends in the data, 2023 had the highest on-time rate: 82.0% in 2023, 78.4% in 2024, 64.1% in 2025 and 78.2% in 2026. By this site's test, 2 years out of 4 had a real holiday effect.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 (this page) | 71,995 | 82.0% | 80.5% | +1.5 | 0.44% | 1.55% |
| 2024 | 73,096 | 78.4% | 84.2% | −5.8 | 0.40% | 0.60% |
| 2025 | 75,449 | 64.1% | 82.4% | −18.3 | 3.19% | 1.09% |
| 2026, close to normal | 76,916 | 78.2% | 80.6% | −2.4 | 1.27% | 2.59% |
“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 Presidents Day weekend
Practical points from 2023: Sunday 19 February was the best day to fly; book before the evening, since 8pm–5am departures ran 14.2 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Honolulu (HNL) and New York (LGA). The pattern across years, on the Presidents 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
- Presidents Day weekend: every year and the next one
- Presidents Day weekend 2024
- Presidents Day weekend 2025
- Presidents Day weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Presidents 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.