Holiday record
Spring break 2026 flight delays
Tuesday 10 March 2026 to Wednesday 25 March 2026 · 317,330 flights
Historical statistics for Spring break 2026, not live status and not a forecast for a future Spring break.
Spring break 2026 flights ran 5.8 points less punctual than the weeks around it: 73.1% arrived on time, against 78.9%. Beyond that, late flights averaged 80 minutes against 74 and cancellations came to 4.06% against 1.67%.
Key figures
On time
73.1%
Normal weeks: 78.9%
Avg delay
80 min
Delayed flights only. Normal weeks: 74 min
Cancelled
4.06%
Normal weeks: 1.67%
1 hour+ late
10.9%
Normal weeks: 7.6%
Between Tuesday 10 March 2026 to Wednesday 25 March 2026 airlines scheduled 317,330 flights. Measured per day against the 24 baseline days, the holiday was no busier than usual (19,833 flights a day against 19,396).
Against normal weeks
Spring break 2026 next to the weeks around it
| Period | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| All flights, Spring break 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.
Day by day
Which day of Spring break ran best
The low point came mid-holiday, on Monday 16 March at 44.6% on time, 39.0 points below the 83.6% of ordinary Mondays. The best day was Wednesday 25 March at 87.4%, while Thursday 19 March was the busiest, with 20,795 flights scheduled. 10 of the 16 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: Tue 10 +3.3, Wed 11 −12.2, Thu 12 −12.8, Fri 13 −8.2, Sat 14 −5.9, Sun 15 −16.1, Mon 16 −39.0, Tue 17 −21.0, Wed 18 −9.8, Thu 19 +5.4, Fri 20 +5.9, Sat 21 +6.2, Sun 22 −3.2, Mon 23 −5.0, Tue 24 +3.8, Wed 25 +5.5 points. The longest bad stretch ran 8 days, from Wednesday 11 March to Wednesday 18 March.
| Day | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tuesday 10 March | 18,751 | 85.5% | 82.2% | +3.3 | 2.41% | 2.65% |
| Wednesday 11 March | 19,290 | 69.7% | 81.9% | −12.2 | 2.23% | 0.57% |
| Thursday 12 March | 20,738 | 64.5% | 77.3% | −12.8 | 2.27% | 1.96% |
| Friday 13 March | 20,738 | 65.3% | 73.5% | −8.2 | 4.40% | 2.31% |
| Saturday 14 March | 18,530 | 69.3% | 75.2% | −5.9 | 3.83% | 2.26% |
| Sunday 15 March | 20,536 | 61.6% | 77.7% | −16.1 | 14.07% | 1.27% |
| Monday 16 March | 20,678 | 44.6% | 83.6% | −39.0 | 19.57% | 0.68% |
| Tuesday 17 March | 18,873 | 61.2% | 82.2% | −21.0 | 5.64% | 2.65% |
| Wednesday 18 March | 19,414 | 72.1% | 81.9% | −9.8 | 1.53% | 0.57% |
| Thursday 19 March | 20,795 | 82.7% | 77.3% | +5.4 | 0.40% | 1.96% |
| Friday 20 March | 20,790 | 79.4% | 73.5% | +5.9 | 0.54% | 2.31% |
| Saturday 21 March | 18,618 | 81.4% | 75.2% | +6.2 | 0.76% | 2.26% |
| Sunday 22 March | 20,594 | 74.5% | 77.7% | −3.2 | 0.86% | 1.27% |
| Monday 23 March | 20,734 | 78.6% | 83.6% | −5.0 | 2.81% | 0.68% |
| Tuesday 24 March | 18,887 | 86.0% | 82.2% | +3.8 | 1.44% | 2.65% |
| Wednesday 25 March | 19,364 | 87.4% | 81.9% | +5.5 | 1.33% | 0.57% |
“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
The later the flight, the worse the odds: 5am–8am departures 86.0% on time, 5pm–8pm departures 64.2%. The 5pm–8pm window moved most against its normal weeks, 7.6 points worse than 71.8%.
| Departure | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5am–8am | 53,480 | 86.0% | 89.0% | −3.0 | 3.85% | 1.95% |
| 8am–11am | 58,023 | 79.5% | 84.2% | −4.7 | 3.18% | 1.60% |
| 11am–2pm | 54,206 | 73.7% | 79.3% | −5.6 | 3.54% | 1.43% |
| 2pm–5pm | 54,490 | 67.8% | 75.0% | −7.2 | 3.80% | 1.42% |
| 5pm–8pm | 55,288 | 64.2% | 71.8% | −7.6 | 4.69% | 1.75% |
| 8pm–5am | 41,843 | 65.2% | 72.8% | −7.6 | 5.76% | 1.97% |
“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 2026
Ranked by on-time rate, Fresno (FAT) at 88.5%, Boise (BOI) at 85.9% and Portland (PDX) at 85.7% led the large airports and Fort Lauderdale (FLL) at 55.3%, Chicago (ORD) at 62.8% and Houston (HOU) at 64.3% trailed. Lihue (LIH) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 84.5% to 67.8%. Against their own normal weeks, 92 of 96 slipped.
Three hubs set the tone for the whole network: Chicago (ORD, 16,236 departures, 62.8% on time), Denver (DEN, 14,040 departures, 74.2% on time) and Atlanta (ATL, 13,832 departures, 71.5% on time). Between them they handled 14% of departures.
Best against their own normal weeks: Fresno (FAT, +4.8 points), San Francisco (SFO, +2.8 points) and Tucson (TUS, +0.3 points).
How long a delay lasted depended heavily on the airport. Delayed departures from Albany (ALB) averaged 128 minutes, against 70 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Dallas (DAL) the average was 53 minutes.
Some airports took far more of the holiday rush than others. Daily departures rose most at Panama City (ECP, +17%), Des Moines (DSM, +11%) and Cincinnati (CVG, +11%), and fell most at Hartford (BDL, −2%). 3 of the three fastest-growing airports ran below their normal on-time rate.
| Airport | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago (ORD) | 16,236 | 62.8% | 70.6% | −7.8 | 6.86% | 4.58% |
| Denver (DEN) | 14,040 | 74.2% | 79.8% | −5.6 | 1.77% | 0.90% |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 13,832 | 71.5% | 79.3% | −7.8 | 4.34% | 1.84% |
| Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) | 13,545 | 70.7% | 77.6% | −6.9 | 2.58% | 1.65% |
| Phoenix (PHX) | 10,083 | 73.9% | 81.5% | −7.6 | 1.48% | 0.31% |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 8,331 | 76.8% | 80.3% | −3.5 | 1.79% | 0.71% |
| Orlando (MCO) | 8,004 | 67.2% | 73.4% | −6.2 | 6.76% | 1.10% |
| Charlotte (CLT) | 7,904 | 72.5% | 79.5% | −7.0 | 3.81% | 0.75% |
| Las Vegas (LAS) | 7,784 | 78.4% | 81.3% | −2.9 | 1.75% | 0.50% |
| Seattle (SEA) | 6,640 | 76.7% | 85.0% | −8.3 | 3.84% | 0.42% |
| Boston (BOS) | 6,399 | 73.1% | 74.3% | −1.2 | 4.22% | 3.55% |
| Washington (DCA) | 6,307 | 66.6% | 72.6% | −6.0 | 7.59% | 2.51% |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 6,294 | 85.0% | 82.2% | +2.8 | 1.51% | 0.46% |
| New York (LGA) | 6,075 | 64.5% | 70.2% | −5.7 | 14.01% | 5.94% |
| Newark (EWR) | 5,582 | 73.2% | 81.5% | −8.3 | 3.53% | 3.15% |
| Detroit (DTW) | 5,578 | 66.0% | 78.4% | −12.4 | 5.50% | 1.99% |
| Salt Lake City (SLC) | 5,516 | 85.6% | 85.8% | −0.2 | 1.89% | 0.40% |
| Houston (IAH) | 5,438 | 73.1% | 81.4% | −8.3 | 4.06% | 1.30% |
| Miami (MIA) | 5,419 | 67.2% | 69.4% | −2.2 | 5.09% | 0.74% |
| Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 5,155 | 55.3% | 62.4% | −7.1 | 7.00% | 2.24% |
| Nashville (BNA) | 5,045 | 71.6% | 79.9% | −8.3 | 3.51% | 0.93% |
| Minneapolis (MSP) | 5,013 | 71.5% | 83.5% | −12.0 | 8.84% | 0.88% |
| San Diego (SAN) | 4,420 | 77.9% | 81.5% | −3.6 | 1.47% | 0.49% |
| New York (JFK) | 4,323 | 71.4% | 76.6% | −5.2 | 3.61% | 3.01% |
| Austin (AUS) | 4,157 | 69.2% | 78.9% | −9.7 | 2.48% | 0.77% |
| Baltimore (BWI) | 4,057 | 71.7% | 78.6% | −6.9 | 4.17% | 0.82% |
| Tampa (TPA) | 4,002 | 73.4% | 77.9% | −4.5 | 4.82% | 0.89% |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 3,998 | 73.1% | 79.4% | −6.3 | 4.93% | 1.31% |
| Chicago (MDW) | 3,453 | 67.4% | 73.5% | −6.1 | 4.17% | 2.83% |
| Dallas (DAL) | 3,234 | 68.8% | 74.3% | −5.5 | 1.64% | 0.66% |
“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 2026
2 routes reached 500 flights in the window: LGA to ORD (516 flights, 53.9% on time against 62.1% normally) and ORD to LGA (516 flights, 51.1% on time against 61.7% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LGA to ORD | 516 | 53.9% | 62.1% | −8.2 | 16.47% | 8.29% |
| ORD to LGA | 516 | 51.1% | 61.7% | −10.6 | 16.47% | 7.12% |
| SFO to LAXsmall sample | 486 | 87.5% | 80.6% | +6.9 | 1.44% | 1.00% |
| LAX to SFOsmall sample | 485 | 90.1% | 73.7% | +16.4 | 2.06% | 1.00% |
| PHX to DENsmall sample | 484 | 73.1% | 77.8% | −4.7 | 0.62% | 0.30% |
| DEN to PHXsmall sample | 484 | 72.1% | 82.4% | −10.3 | 0.83% | 0.45% |
| LAX to JFKsmall sample | 445 | 73.3% | 72.7% | +0.6 | 1.12% | 1.08% |
| JFK to LAXsmall sample | 445 | 83.6% | 86.0% | −2.4 | 1.12% | 2.48% |
| OGG to HNLsmall sample | 430 | 60.9% | 83.4% | −22.5 | 5.58% | 1.67% |
| HNL to OGGsmall sample | 429 | 66.8% | 85.8% | −19.0 | 5.83% | 1.66% |
“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 2026
The airline mattered a great deal. Envoy Air ran 78.3% on time and Spirit Airlines 49.8%, a 28.5 points gap across 13 carriers. Spirit Airlines lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 10.3 points.
For connections, the hour-late figure matters more than the on-time rate. 10.9% of arrivals over Spring break 2026 were an hour or more late, against 7.6% normally, up 3.3 points. Fort Lauderdale (FLL) had the highest share among large airports at 21.1%.
Cancellations spiked: 4.06% of all flights, more than double the 1.67% of normal weeks. The worst-hit were New York (LGA) at 14.01%, Aspen (ASE) at 10.86% and Madison (MSN) at 9.28%, and Spirit Airlines cancelled the most among carriers at 14.24%.
| Airline | Flights | On time | Normal weeks | Change | Cancelled | Normal weeks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwest Airlines | 63,592 | 72.3% | 78.4% | −6.1 | 2.36% | 0.62% |
| Delta Air Lines | 45,290 | 76.4% | 83.4% | −7.0 | 5.27% | 1.50% |
| American Airlines | 43,921 | 72.2% | 77.5% | −5.3 | 3.25% | 0.87% |
| SkyWest Airlines | 38,023 | 76.3% | 80.2% | −3.9 | 4.08% | 2.48% |
| United Airlines | 36,658 | 76.8% | 82.0% | −5.2 | 1.98% | 1.17% |
| Republic Airways | 16,543 | 70.6% | 75.7% | −5.1 | 8.17% | 4.52% |
| Alaska Airlines | 14,318 | 73.5% | 83.4% | −9.9 | 2.83% | 0.90% |
| Envoy Air | 13,866 | 78.3% | 82.6% | −4.3 | 3.66% | 2.23% |
| JetBlue Airways | 11,031 | 66.6% | 69.2% | −2.6 | 3.42% | 2.49% |
| PSA Airlines | 10,969 | 67.2% | 76.3% | −9.1 | 9.52% | 3.87% |
| Frontier Airlines | 10,212 | 66.2% | 74.2% | −8.0 | 4.77% | 1.41% |
| Spirit Airlines | 6,641 | 49.8% | 60.1% | −10.3 | 14.24% | 6.10% |
| Allegiant Air | 6,266 | 70.4% | 75.4% | −5.0 | 2.97% | 0.26% |
“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
On-time rate by year: 74.6% in 2023, 78.9% in 2024, 80.5% in 2025 and 73.1% in 2026. 2026 sits at the bottom of it. By this site's test, 1 year out of 4 had a real holiday effect.
| 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, close to normal | 313,707 | 80.5% | 79.8% | +0.7 | 0.97% | 1.27% |
| 2026 (this page) | 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
Practical points from 2026: Wednesday 25 March was the best day to fly; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 21.8 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Lihue (LIH) and Honolulu (HNL). The pattern across years, on the Spring break 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
- Spring break: every year and the next one
- Spring break 2023
- Spring break 2024
- Spring break 2025
- Press kit: chart, data file and summary for Spring break 2026
- Every US travel holiday
- The holidays that fly better than a normal week
- The busiest US travel days, and what they cost in punctuality
- Chicago O'Hare International (ORD) 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.