Thanksgiving week 2024 flight delays

The final day, Sunday 1 December at 77.1% on time, was the weakest of the window, 9.0 points below the 86.1% of ordinary Sundays. The best day was Thursday 28 November at 91.5%, while Sunday 1 December was the busiest, with 21,764 flights scheduled. 5 of the 9 days ran below the figure for the same weekday in the baseline weeks.

Day-by-day change against normal weekdays: Sat 23 −3.9, Sun 24 −1.0, Mon 25 +2.2, Tue 26 −2.6, Wed 27 +0.2, Thu 28 +11.7, Fri 29 +3.6, Sat 30 −10.3, Sun 1 −9.0 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.

Departure time mattered more than the date. Flights leaving 5am–8am ran 90.0% on time, and by 5pm–8pm that had fallen to 78.5%, 11.5 points lower. The 8am–11am window moved most against its normal weeks, 1.2 points worse than 87.5%.

The picture split by airport, with 35 of 68 large airports below their normal weeks and the rest above. Detroit (DTW) fell furthest against its own normal weeks, from 81.8% to 72.1%. The weakest were Detroit (DTW) at 72.1%, San Diego (SAN) at 73.5% and Newark (EWR) at 73.9%; the strongest Kahului (OGG) at 93.9%, Houston (HOU) at 92.6% and Honolulu (HNL) at 92.0%.

The biggest airports carried the most weight: Atlanta (ATL, 8,678 departures, 82.5% on time), Denver (DEN, 7,606 departures, 81.9% on time) and Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW, 7,597 departures, 81.9% on time), together 14% of every departure in the window.

Best against their own normal weeks: Pittsburgh (PIT, +6.4 points), New York (LGA, +5.1 points) and Washington (DCA, +4.9 points).

How long a delay lasted depended heavily on the airport. Delayed departures from Santa Ana (SNA) averaged 95 minutes, against 80 in its normal weeks, the longest of any large airport; at Dallas (DAL) the average was 38 minutes.

The holiday reshaped where people flew. Daily departures rose most at Tampa (TPA, +12%), Fort Myers (RSW, +11%) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL, +11%), and fell most at New York (LGA, −10%). 3 of the three fastest-growing airports ran below their normal on-time rate.

No route reached 500 flights over the 9 days, so none is ranked. The busiest were LAX to SFO (315 flights, 75.8% on time against 69.2% normally), SFO to LAX (315 flights, 79.1% on time against 77.2% normally) and HNL to OGG (267 flights, 95.1% on time against 94.2% normally); 7 of the ten busiest beat their normal weeks, and all ten appear below with a small-sample mark.

Among 15 carriers with 500 or more flights, Hawaiian Airlines led at 89.2% and JetBlue Airways trailed at 74.9%. JetBlue Airways lost the most ground against its own normal weeks, 6.2 points. PSA Airlines gained the most on its normal weeks, 5.4 points.

The number that decides a missed connection is the share of flights an hour or more late. 4.6% of arrivals over Thanksgiving week 2024 were an hour or more late, against 4.8% normally, essentially unchanged. Newark (EWR) had the highest share among large airports at 9.3%.

Almost everything that was scheduled flew: cancellations were 0.14% overall and topped out at 0.56% among large airports.

In the run of 3 years (83.2% in 2023, 83.6% in 2024 and 77.8% in 2025), 2024 comes out on top. 1 of them cleared the measurable-effect test.

If 2024 is any guide: avoid the final day of the window, the worst of 2024; book before the evening, since 5pm–8pm departures ran 11.5 points worse than 5am–8am ones; and allow extra connection time at Detroit (DTW) and San Diego (SAN). Treat that as one data point; the Thanksgiving week overview shows which of these patterns repeat.

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.