Holiday rankings
Airports over US holidays, ranked
Every airport with at least 500 departures in at least 30 of the 39 holiday windows in the data, ranked by how far its on-time rate moved against its own normal weeks, worst first.
Historical statistics from US DOT on-time data, not forecasts and not live status.
Holidays hit Fort Lauderdale (FLL) hardest: its on-time rate averaged −3.8 points against its own normal weeks. New York (JFK, −3.3), St. Louis (STL, −3.0), Sacramento (SMF, −2.8) and San Diego (SAN, −2.6) complete the bottom five.
The airports that cope best are Washington (IAD, +0.5), Seattle (SEA, +0.4), Salt Lake City (SLC, +0.4), Honolulu (HNL, −0.1) and Minneapolis (MSP, −0.4), the five closest to or above their usual record over holidays.
35 of the 38 airports ranked run worse over holidays than in their normal weeks on average.
Among the five busiest holiday airports, Atlanta (ATL) averaged 78.8% on time (−1.3 against normal), Denver (DEN) averaged 75.3% on time (−2.1 against normal), Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) averaged 73.1% on time (−2.0 against normal), Chicago (ORD) averaged 73.8% on time (−2.4 against normal) and Phoenix (PHX) averaged 79.6% on time (−2.3 against normal).
On raw on-time rate over holidays, rather than change, Salt Lake City (SLC) leads at 83.9% and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) trails at 69.9%.
The full list
Ranked
| Airport | Vs normal weeks | Avg on time | Worse in | Avg cancelled |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | −3.8 | 69.9% | 25 of 39 | 1.57% |
| 2. New York (JFK) | −3.3 | 74.5% | 23 of 39 | 1.72% |
| 3. St. Louis (STL) | −3.0 | 78.2% | 23 of 39 | 1.60% |
| 4. Sacramento (SMF) | −2.8 | 81.8% | 26 of 36 | 1.22% |
| 5. San Diego (SAN) | −2.6 | 77.7% | 22 of 39 | 1.62% |
| 6. Newark (EWR) | −2.5 | 75.5% | 21 of 39 | 2.06% |
| 7. Chicago (ORD) | −2.4 | 73.8% | 22 of 39 | 2.37% |
| 8. Houston (HOU) | −2.3 | 78.7% | 22 of 36 | 1.65% |
| 9. Phoenix (PHX) | −2.3 | 79.6% | 25 of 39 | 1.00% |
| 10. Detroit (DTW) | −2.3 | 78.4% | 19 of 39 | 1.59% |
| 11. Baltimore (BWI) | −2.2 | 76.0% | 22 of 39 | 1.57% |
| 12. Denver (DEN) | −2.1 | 75.3% | 20 of 39 | 1.83% |
| 13. Nashville (BNA) | −2.1 | 78.4% | 20 of 39 | 1.93% |
| 14. Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | −2.0 | 73.1% | 19 of 39 | 1.85% |
| 15. New York (LGA) | −2.0 | 76.8% | 19 of 39 | 2.82% |
| 16. Orlando (MCO) | −1.9 | 73.6% | 22 of 39 | 1.63% |
| 17. Houston (IAH) | −1.8 | 76.9% | 22 of 39 | 1.39% |
| 18. Tampa (TPA) | −1.8 | 78.2% | 23 of 39 | 1.72% |
| 19. Boston (BOS) | −1.8 | 76.3% | 19 of 39 | 1.87% |
| 20. Philadelphia (PHL) | −1.7 | 76.6% | 20 of 39 | 1.49% |
| 21. Chicago (MDW) | −1.7 | 77.0% | 20 of 39 | 3.03% |
| 22. Dallas (DAL) | −1.6 | 77.1% | 21 of 39 | 1.74% |
| 23. Miami (MIA) | −1.6 | 72.8% | 23 of 39 | 1.07% |
| 24. Portland (PDX) | −1.4 | 82.6% | 20 of 36 | 1.44% |
| 25. Las Vegas (LAS) | −1.4 | 77.1% | 21 of 39 | 1.33% |
| 26. Los Angeles (LAX) | −1.3 | 81.0% | 20 of 39 | 0.96% |
| 27. Atlanta (ATL) | −1.3 | 78.8% | 20 of 39 | 0.98% |
| 28. New Orleans (MSY) | −1.2 | 78.4% | 19 of 33 | 1.52% |
| 29. Austin (AUS) | −1.0 | 78.5% | 20 of 39 | 1.31% |
| 30. San Francisco (SFO) | −0.9 | 78.6% | 18 of 39 | 1.24% |
| 31. Charlotte (CLT) | −0.7 | 76.2% | 19 of 39 | 1.09% |
| 32. Raleigh (RDU) | −0.6 | 80.0% | 13 of 38 | 1.33% |
| 33. Washington (DCA) | −0.5 | 77.7% | 15 of 39 | 2.21% |
| 34. Minneapolis (MSP) | −0.4 | 81.3% | 17 of 39 | 1.42% |
| 35. Honolulu (HNL) | −0.1 | 83.5% | 14 of 37 | 0.91% |
| 36. Salt Lake City (SLC) | +0.4 | 83.9% | 16 of 39 | 0.82% |
| 37. Seattle (SEA) | +0.4 | 80.4% | 14 of 39 | 1.32% |
| 38. Washington (IAD) | +0.5 | 82.1% | 13 of 34 | 0.93% |
Reading the list
What the ranking shows
Holiday cancellations averaged highest at Chicago (MDW, 3.03%), New York (LGA, 2.82%) and Chicago (ORD, 2.37%).
Holiday by holiday, the airport that fell furthest behind its normal weeks on average was Chicago (ORD, −14.4) over Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, Fort Myers (RSW, −15.3) over Presidents Day weekend, Wichita (ICT, −7.3) over Spring break, Kansas City (MCI, −0.5) over Easter weekend, Atlanta (ATL, −6.5) over Memorial Day weekend, Ontario (ONT, −0.1) over Fourth of July week, Dallas (DAL, −13.1) over Labor Day weekend, Newark (EWR, −11.5) over Columbus Day weekend, New York (LGA, −1.4) over Veterans Day, San Juan (SJU, −7.6) over Thanksgiving week and Aspen (ASE, −18.0) over Christmas and New Year.
The single worst holiday for any large airport was Martin Luther King Jr. weekend 2024 at Chicago (ORD), −50.8 points against its normal weeks.
Christmas and New Year is the stiffest test. There, San Diego (SAN) fell furthest behind its normal weeks at −14.5 points on average, and Washington (DCA) held up best at +0.0.
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
Other holiday rankings
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.