Holiday record
Spring break 2025 flight delays
Monday 10 March 2025 to Tuesday 25 March 2025 · 313,707 flights
Historical statistics for Spring break 2025, not live status and not a forecast for a future Spring break.
By the numbers, Spring break 2025 was an ordinary stretch of flying. The on-time rate held to 80.5% from 79.8% in the surrounding weeks, late flights averaged 71 minutes against 72, and cancellations were 0.97% against 1.27%, all inside the range a normal fortnight produces.
Key figures
On time
80.5%
Normal weeks: 79.8%
Avg delay
71 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 72 min
Cancelled
0.97%
Normal weeks: 1.27%
1 hour+ late
6.9%
Normal weeks: 7.3%
16 days and 313,707 flights: that is the window from Monday 10 March 2025 to Tuesday 25 March 2025. Its daily schedule of 19,607 flights matched the 19,171 of the weeks around it.
Against normal weeks
Spring break 2025 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Spring break 2025 | 313,707 | 80.5% | 79.8% | +0.7 | 0.97% | 1.27% |
“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 Spring break ran best
The weakest day fell inside the holiday rather than at either end: Sunday 16 March at 55.9% on time, 19.7 points below the 75.6% of ordinary Sundays. The best day was Tuesday 11 March at 91.2%, while Thursday 20 March was the busiest, with 20,397 flights scheduled. 4 of the 16 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.
Against the same weekday in normal weeks, day by day: Mon 10 +6.7, Tue 11 +6.6, Wed 12 +7.6, Thu 13 +1.8, Fri 14 +1.0, Sat 15 −17.6, Sun 16 −19.7, Mon 17 −5.2, Tue 18 +1.0, Wed 19 +1.5, Thu 20 −0.8, Fri 21 +4.0, Sat 22 +5.8, Sun 23 +7.8, Mon 24 +4.2, Tue 25 +2.9 points. The longest bad stretch ran 3 days, from Saturday 15 March to Monday 17 March.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday 10 March | 20,289 | 83.9% | 77.2% | +6.7 | 0.25% | 1.80% |
| Tuesday 11 March | 18,701 | 91.2% | 84.6% | +6.6 | 0.28% | 1.70% |
| Wednesday 12 March | 19,027 | 88.0% | 80.4% | +7.6 | 0.17% | 1.99% |
| Thursday 13 March | 20,342 | 82.6% | 80.8% | +1.8 | 0.47% | 1.01% |
| Friday 14 March | 20,324 | 80.3% | 79.3% | +1.0 | 2.82% | 0.43% |
| Saturday 15 March | 18,170 | 64.1% | 81.7% | −17.6 | 1.40% | 0.90% |
| Sunday 16 March | 20,206 | 55.9% | 75.6% | −19.7 | 4.31% | 1.14% |
| Monday 17 March | 20,308 | 72.0% | 77.2% | −5.2 | 1.37% | 1.80% |
| Tuesday 18 March | 18,731 | 85.6% | 84.6% | +1.0 | 0.76% | 1.70% |
| Wednesday 19 March | 19,124 | 81.9% | 80.4% | +1.5 | 2.19% | 1.99% |
| Thursday 20 March | 20,397 | 80.0% | 80.8% | −0.8 | 0.30% | 1.01% |
| Friday 21 March | 20,384 | 83.3% | 79.3% | +4.0 | 0.18% | 0.43% |
| Saturday 22 March | 18,302 | 87.5% | 81.7% | +5.8 | 0.11% | 0.90% |
| Sunday 23 March | 20,166 | 83.4% | 75.6% | +7.8 | 0.23% | 1.14% |
| Monday 24 March | 20,333 | 81.4% | 77.2% | +4.2 | 0.32% | 1.80% |
| Tuesday 25 March | 18,903 | 87.5% | 84.6% | +2.9 | 0.16% | 1.70% |
“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 73.8% on time, 16.7 points below the 90.5% of 5am–8am flights. The 5am–8am window moved most against its normal weeks, 1.9 points better than 88.6%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 52,214 | 90.5% | 88.6% | +1.9 | 0.72% | 1.24% |
| 8am–11am | 56,564 | 85.7% | 85.1% | +0.6 | 0.72% | 1.08% |
| 11am–2pm | 54,577 | 81.0% | 80.8% | +0.2 | 0.91% | 1.00% |
| 2pm–5pm | 54,009 | 76.2% | 75.7% | +0.5 | 1.13% | 1.21% |
| 5pm–8pm | 54,581 | 73.8% | 73.0% | +0.8 | 1.24% | 1.57% |
| 8pm–5am | 41,762 | 74.8% | 74.4% | +0.4 | 1.12% | 1.64% |
“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 Spring break 2025
Ranked by on-time rate, Long Beach (LGB) at 89.9%, Spokane (GEG) at 89.0% and Oakland (OAK) at 88.0% led the large airports and Aspen (ASE) at 64.5%, West Palm Beach (PBI) at 71.7% and Miami (MIA) at 72.5% trailed. Anchorage (ANC) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 87.3% to 81.1%. Against their own normal weeks, 36 of 97 slipped.
13% of the holiday's departures left from just three airports, Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 14,224 departures, 73.9% on time), Denver (DEN, 13,881 departures, 83.4% on time) and Atlanta (ATL, 13,805 departures, 77.0% on time).
Not every airport struggled: Birmingham (BHM, +6.0 points), Sanford (SFB, +5.9 points) and Little Rock (LIT, +5.7 points) improved on their usual on-time rate.
Delay length varied widely by airport. Delayed departures from Sarasota (SRQ) averaged 128 minutes, against 92 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Anchorage (ANC) the average was 43 minutes.
Holiday traffic did not rise evenly. Daily departures rose most at Des Moines (DSM, +11%), Madison (MSN, +9%) and Memphis (MEM, +8%), and fell most at Little Rock (LIT, −2%). 0 of the three fastest-growing airports ran below their normal on-time rate.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 14,224 | 73.9% | 70.4% | +3.5 | 2.31% | 3.58% |
| Denver (DEN) | 13,881 | 83.4% | 79.0% | +4.4 | 0.61% | 0.50% |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 13,805 | 77.0% | 76.0% | +1.0 | 0.62% | 1.03% |
| Chicago (ORD) | 12,911 | 74.4% | 77.1% | −2.7 | 0.96% | 1.90% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 10,139 | 80.2% | 81.2% | −1.0 | 0.55% | 0.51% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 9,318 | 77.6% | 74.3% | +3.3 | 1.30% | 1.77% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 8,568 | 80.2% | 80.9% | −0.7 | 0.64% | 0.46% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 8,439 | 84.0% | 85.2% | −1.2 | 0.36% | 0.41% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 7,784 | 77.7% | 79.0% | −1.3 | 1.34% | 0.87% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 6,563 | 82.5% | 82.3% | +0.2 | 0.38% | 0.35% |
| Boston (BOS) | 6,453 | 82.1% | 80.2% | +1.9 | 0.51% | 0.64% |
| Washington (DCA) | 6,445 | 77.2% | 75.8% | +1.4 | 1.54% | 2.59% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 6,162 | 80.5% | 84.0% | −3.5 | 0.70% | 0.40% |
| New York (LGA) | 5,944 | 81.4% | 78.7% | +2.7 | 0.56% | 1.44% |
| Miami (MIA) | 5,634 | 72.5% | 72.6% | −0.1 | 0.80% | 1.71% |
| Newark (EWR) | 5,551 | 81.2% | 83.0% | −1.8 | 0.54% | 0.96% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 5,444 | 81.3% | 81.7% | −0.4 | 0.50% | 1.19% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 5,356 | 82.6% | 85.8% | −3.2 | 0.26% | 0.18% |
| Houston (IAH) | 5,133 | 79.7% | 79.1% | +0.6 | 0.64% | 0.68% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 4,989 | 83.0% | 80.2% | +2.8 | 0.50% | 0.68% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 4,553 | 79.8% | 79.2% | +0.6 | 0.75% | 1.52% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 4,526 | 76.2% | 76.9% | −0.7 | 0.75% | 1.04% |
| New York (JFK) | 4,495 | 80.4% | 81.4% | −1.0 | 0.49% | 0.79% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 4,211 | 74.6% | 77.5% | −2.9 | 2.02% | 1.31% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 4,152 | 78.6% | 80.3% | −1.7 | 0.60% | 0.75% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 4,142 | 82.4% | 80.8% | +1.6 | 0.68% | 1.21% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 3,995 | 80.9% | 77.8% | +3.1 | 1.05% | 1.75% |
| Austin (AUS) | 3,913 | 82.3% | 80.6% | +1.7 | 0.56% | 1.33% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 3,267 | 81.6% | 76.5% | +5.1 | 0.77% | 1.86% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 3,220 | 82.2% | 80.4% | +1.8 | 1.18% | 0.82% |
“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 Spring break 2025
6 routes reached 500 flights in the window: PHX to DEN (517 flights, 83.5% on time against 79.4% normally), DEN to PHX (512 flights, 82.0% on time against 78.5% normally), LGA to ORD (507 flights, 79.6% on time against 77.7% normally), ORD to LGA (507 flights, 72.5% on time against 77.6% normally), OGG to HNL (501 flights, 87.4% on time against 89.7% normally) and HNL to OGG (501 flights, 88.5% on time against 91.2% normally). The table lists the ten busiest; routes under 500 flights carry a small-sample mark.
| Route | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PHX to DEN | 517 | 83.5% | 79.4% | +4.1 | 0.58% | 0.48% |
| DEN to PHX | 512 | 82.0% | 78.5% | +3.5 | 0.98% | 0.48% |
| LGA to ORD | 507 | 79.6% | 77.7% | +1.9 | 0.20% | 2.38% |
| ORD to LGA | 507 | 72.5% | 77.6% | −5.1 | 0.20% | 2.27% |
| OGG to HNL | 501 | 87.4% | 89.7% | −2.3 | 1.40% | 2.04% |
| HNL to OGG | 501 | 88.5% | 91.2% | −2.7 | 1.40% | 1.70% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 470 | 77.4% | 85.2% | −7.8 | 0.21% | 0.24% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 470 | 75.2% | 79.3% | −4.1 | 0.43% | 0.24% |
| DCA to BOSsmall sample | 442 | 80.1% | 80.3% | −0.2 | 0.00% | 0.67% |
| BOS to DCAsmall sample | 442 | 79.8% | 76.9% | +2.9 | 0.00% | 0.40% |
“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 Spring break 2025
Only 9.4 points separated the carriers, with Republic Airways first at 84.3% and PSA Airlines last at 74.9%. Hawaiian Airlines lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 4.1 points. Envoy Air gained the most on its normal weeks, 3.9 points.
An hour late is where most connections are lost. 6.9% of arrivals over Spring break 2025 were an hour or more late, against 7.3% normally, essentially unchanged. Aspen (ASE) had the highest share among large airports at 16.0%.
Cancellations were local rather than general. Overall 0.97% of flights were called off against 1.27% normally, but Aspen (ASE) reached 9.71% and Omaha (OMA) 6.16%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 64,212 | 83.1% | 81.6% | +1.5 | 0.75% | 0.76% |
| Delta Air Lines | 44,346 | 80.8% | 80.9% | −0.1 | 0.46% | 0.69% |
| American Airlines | 43,242 | 77.2% | 74.7% | +2.5 | 1.15% | 1.81% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 36,836 | 80.2% | 81.2% | −1.0 | 1.37% | 1.56% |
| United Airlines | 34,818 | 82.3% | 83.0% | −0.7 | 0.34% | 0.44% |
| Republic Airways | 15,079 | 84.3% | 84.3% | 0.0 | 0.74% | 1.32% |
| Envoy Air | 12,618 | 80.5% | 76.6% | +3.9 | 2.04% | 3.51% |
| PSA Airlines | 11,424 | 74.9% | 71.1% | +3.8 | 3.11% | 4.89% |
| JetBlue Airways | 11,028 | 78.2% | 78.8% | −0.6 | 0.44% | 0.69% |
| Spirit Airlines | 10,296 | 81.0% | 82.0% | −1.0 | 0.96% | 0.82% |
| Alaska Airlines | 9,793 | 80.7% | 81.8% | −1.1 | 0.64% | 0.68% |
| Frontier Airlines | 9,585 | 75.6% | 73.8% | +1.8 | 1.96% | 1.69% |
| Allegiant Air | 6,906 | 78.3% | 76.7% | +1.6 | 0.72% | 0.31% |
| Hawaiian Airlines | 3,524 | 81.2% | 85.3% | −4.1 | 1.48% | 1.81% |
“Normal weeks” are the two weeks either side of the holiday, leaving out other holiday periods. Change is in percentage points.
Year on year
Spring break across the years
Set against other years, 2025 ranks first for punctuality (74.6% in 2023, 78.9% in 2024, 80.5% in 2025 and 73.1% in 2026). 1 of them cleared the measurable-effect test.
| Year | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023, close to normal | 300,396 | 74.6% | 76.1% | −1.5 | 1.23% | 1.74% |
| 2024, close to normal | 310,166 | 78.9% | 79.9% | −1.0 | 0.94% | 0.90% |
| 2025 (this page) | 313,707 | 80.5% | 79.8% | +0.7 | 0.97% | 1.27% |
| 2026 | 317,330 | 73.1% | 78.9% | −5.8 | 4.06% | 1.67% |
“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 Spring break
Lessons from 2025: Tuesday 11 March was the best day to fly; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 16.7 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Anchorage (ANC) and West Palm Beach (PBI). Those are one year's patterns; check them against the other years before relying on them.
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
- Spring break: every year and the next one
- Spring break 2023
- Spring break 2024
- Spring break 2026
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Spring break 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.