Holiday record
Presidents Day weekend 2024 flight delays
Friday 16 February 2024 to Monday 19 February 2024 · 73,096 flights
Historical statistics for Presidents Day weekend 2024, not live status and not a forecast for a future Presidents Day weekend.
Presidents Day weekend 2024 flights ran 5.8 points less punctual than the weeks around it: 78.4% arrived on time, against 84.2%. Beyond that, late flights averaged 69 minutes against 64 and cancellations came to 0.40% against 0.60%.
Key figures
On time
78.4%
Normal weeks: 84.2%
Avg delay
69 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 64 min
Cancelled
0.40%
Normal weeks: 0.60%
1 hour+ late
7.1%
Normal weeks: 4.8%
4 days and 73,096 flights: that is the window from Friday 16 February 2024 to Monday 19 February 2024. Its daily schedule of 18,274 flights matched the 17,910 of the weeks around it.
Against normal weeks
Presidents Day weekend 2024 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Presidents Day weekend 2024 | 73,096 | 78.4% | 84.2% | −5.8 | 0.40% | 0.60% |
“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
The low point came mid-holiday, on Saturday 17 February at 70.2% on time, 12.8 points below the 83.0% of ordinary Saturdays. The best day was Monday 19 February at 82.7%, while Friday 16 February was the busiest, with 19,163 flights scheduled. 3 of the 4 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Each day of the window, set against its weekday in normal weeks: Fri 16 −7.5, Sat 17 −12.8, Sun 18 +1.9, Mon 19 −0.4 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 16 February | 19,163 | 78.4% | 85.9% | −7.5 | 0.53% | 0.24% |
| Saturday 17 February | 16,426 | 70.2% | 83.0% | −12.8 | 0.48% | 0.67% |
| Sunday 18 February | 18,409 | 81.0% | 79.1% | +1.9 | 0.23% | 0.90% |
| Monday 19 February | 19,098 | 82.7% | 83.1% | −0.4 | 0.36% | 0.43% |
“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 71.2% on time, 15.5 points below the 86.7% of 5am–8am flights. The 5pm–8pm window moved most against its normal weeks, 7.3 points worse than 78.5%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 11,910 | 86.7% | 91.3% | −4.6 | 0.41% | 0.61% |
| 8am–11am | 13,521 | 82.3% | 87.6% | −5.3 | 0.24% | 0.59% |
| 11am–2pm | 13,073 | 79.3% | 84.9% | −5.6 | 0.30% | 0.73% |
| 2pm–5pm | 13,172 | 76.3% | 81.3% | −5.0 | 0.33% | 0.61% |
| 5pm–8pm | 12,778 | 71.2% | 78.5% | −7.3 | 0.53% | 0.51% |
| 8pm–5am | 8,642 | 73.2% | 80.4% | −7.2 | 0.69% | 0.55% |
“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 2024
39 airports scheduled at least 500 departures. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) at 55.0%, San Francisco (SFO) at 58.4% and New York (JFK) at 66.0% ran the lowest on-time rates, Minneapolis (MSP) at 89.4%, Houston (HOU) at 86.4% and Detroit (DTW) at 86.0% the highest. New York (JFK) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 86.2% to 66.0%. In all, 35 of 39 ran below their own figures for the surrounding weeks.
13% of the holiday's departures left from just three airports, Atlanta (ATL, 3,439 departures, 83.9% on time), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 3,183 departures, 83.0% on time) and Denver (DEN, 3,064 departures, 69.1% on time).
The large airports that did better than usual were Minneapolis (MSP, +1.4 points), Las Vegas (LAS, +1.4 points) and Salt Lake City (SLC, +1.3 points).
Not all delays were equal. Delayed departures from Fort Lauderdale (FLL) averaged 89 minutes, against 61 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Houston (HOU) the average was 38 minutes.
The holiday reshaped where people flew. Daily departures rose most at Fort Myers (RSW, +9%), Tampa (TPA, +7%) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +7%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −6%). Each of them paid for the extra flights with a lower on-time rate.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atlanta (ATL) | 3,439 | 83.9% | 87.4% | −3.5 | 0.06% | 0.12% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 3,183 | 83.0% | 82.1% | +0.9 | 0.00% | 0.15% |
| Denver (DEN) | 3,064 | 69.1% | 75.3% | −6.2 | 1.96% | 0.82% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 2,742 | 86.0% | 86.4% | −0.4 | 0.04% | 0.33% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 2,208 | 78.9% | 82.0% | −3.1 | 0.05% | 0.18% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 2,133 | 82.0% | 85.0% | −3.0 | 0.14% | 0.18% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 1,982 | 66.8% | 78.0% | −11.2 | 0.50% | 0.33% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 1,974 | 79.9% | 78.5% | +1.4 | 0.25% | 0.58% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 1,968 | 74.1% | 82.9% | −8.8 | 0.30% | 0.56% |
| New York (LGA) | 1,639 | 76.8% | 88.4% | −11.6 | 0.12% | 2.15% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 1,580 | 82.0% | 82.1% | −0.1 | 0.06% | 0.30% |
| Washington (DCA) | 1,511 | 80.1% | 88.4% | −8.3 | 0.07% | 0.40% |
| Boston (BOS) | 1,439 | 73.8% | 87.6% | −13.8 | 0.49% | 1.11% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 1,380 | 58.4% | 75.7% | −17.3 | 0.65% | 2.24% |
| Newark (EWR) | 1,361 | 74.7% | 88.9% | −14.2 | 0.37% | 1.26% |
| Miami (MIA) | 1,353 | 70.6% | 72.7% | −2.1 | 0.44% | 0.26% |
| New York (JFK) | 1,307 | 66.0% | 86.2% | −20.2 | 0.69% | 1.25% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 1,274 | 86.0% | 90.1% | −4.1 | 0.00% | 0.22% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 1,212 | 89.4% | 88.0% | +1.4 | 0.00% | 0.41% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 1,200 | 83.9% | 82.6% | +1.3 | 0.17% | 0.33% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1,193 | 55.0% | 73.9% | −18.9 | 1.09% | 0.63% |
| Houston (IAH) | 1,173 | 81.4% | 84.4% | −3.0 | 0.43% | 0.27% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 979 | 81.7% | 87.8% | −6.1 | 0.00% | 0.31% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 968 | 81.5% | 82.1% | −0.6 | 0.72% | 0.35% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 945 | 72.5% | 87.1% | −14.6 | 0.21% | 0.27% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 927 | 80.5% | 82.6% | −2.1 | 0.22% | 0.63% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 910 | 74.0% | 87.0% | −13.0 | 0.11% | 0.28% |
| Austin (AUS) | 801 | 80.5% | 83.8% | −3.3 | 0.12% | 0.34% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 745 | 82.4% | 85.0% | −2.6 | 0.00% | 0.13% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 713 | 85.7% | 87.8% | −2.1 | 0.00% | 0.18% |
“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 2024
Holiday windows are too short for most routes to build a sample: the busiest, OGG to HNL (133 flights, 77.3% on time against 88.0% 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 | 133 | 77.3% | 88.0% | −10.7 | 0.75% | 0.56% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 132 | 84.7% | 88.6% | −3.9 | 0.76% | 0.56% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 113 | 33.0% | 55.5% | −22.5 | 0.00% | 2.26% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 109 | 48.6% | 69.0% | −20.4 | 0.00% | 2.03% |
| PHX to DENsmall sample | 106 | 79.0% | 85.0% | −6.0 | 0.94% | 0.00% |
| LGA to ORDsmall sample | 104 | 85.4% | 91.8% | −6.4 | 0.00% | 1.28% |
| ORD to LGAsmall sample | 104 | 91.3% | 87.0% | +4.3 | 0.00% | 0.90% |
| DEN to PHXsmall sample | 104 | 77.5% | 77.0% | +0.5 | 1.92% | 0.14% |
| DCA to BOSsmall sample | 103 | 82.5% | 88.2% | −5.7 | 0.00% | 1.22% |
| LAX to LASsmall sample | 103 | 73.8% | 72.8% | +1.0 | 0.00% | 0.56% |
“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 2024
Carrier choice was worth 30.3 points of punctuality over the holiday, from Envoy Air at 88.7% down to JetBlue Airways at 58.4%. JetBlue Airways lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 18.7 points. Envoy Air gained the most on its normal weeks, 1.3 points.
For connections, the hour-late figure matters more than the on-time rate. 7.1% of arrivals over Presidents Day weekend 2024 were an hour or more late, against 4.8% normally, up 2.3 points. San Francisco (SFO) had the highest share among large airports at 19.6%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 0.40% of flights were called off against 0.60% normally, but Denver (DEN) reached 1.96% and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) 1.09%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 14,572 | 78.1% | 83.7% | −5.6 | 0.16% | 0.38% |
| American Airlines | 10,530 | 77.8% | 81.0% | −3.2 | 0.11% | 0.16% |
| Delta Air Lines | 9,888 | 84.5% | 88.5% | −4.0 | 0.07% | 0.15% |
| United Airlines | 7,944 | 78.0% | 84.4% | −6.4 | 0.79% | 0.55% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 7,281 | 78.0% | 83.3% | −5.3 | 1.13% | 1.64% |
| Spirit Airlines | 2,947 | 62.7% | 78.3% | −15.6 | 1.29% | 0.90% |
| Envoy Air | 2,892 | 88.7% | 87.4% | +1.3 | 0.00% | 0.20% |
| Republic Airways | 2,886 | 86.3% | 93.4% | −7.1 | 0.00% | 1.46% |
| JetBlue Airways | 2,803 | 58.4% | 77.1% | −18.7 | 1.11% | 1.31% |
| Alaska Airlines | 2,472 | 80.7% | 81.6% | −0.9 | 0.36% | 0.79% |
| Frontier Airlines | 2,232 | 70.0% | 79.6% | −9.6 | 0.67% | 0.33% |
| PSA Airlines | 2,134 | 82.8% | 86.0% | −3.2 | 0.00% | 0.23% |
| Endeavor Air | 2,058 | 86.0% | 90.5% | −4.5 | 0.00% | 1.54% |
| Allegiant Air | 1,602 | 74.2% | 83.1% | −8.9 | 0.25% | 0.10% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 855 | 73.9% | 83.0% | −9.1 | 0.82% | 1.11% |
“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
In the run of 4 years (82.0% in 2023, 78.4% in 2024, 64.1% in 2025 and 78.2% in 2026), 2024 lands between the best and the worst. 2 of those 4 years showed a measurable holiday effect.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023, close to normal | 71,995 | 82.0% | 80.5% | +1.5 | 0.44% | 1.55% |
| 2024 (this page) | 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
What 2024 suggests for a future Presidents Day weekend: Monday 19 February was the best day to fly; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 15.5 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at New York (JFK) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL). 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
- Presidents Day weekend: every year and the next one
- Presidents Day weekend 2023
- Presidents Day weekend 2025
- Presidents Day weekend 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Presidents Day 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.