The Top 10 Ranked U.S. Airports With The Most Delays

Air travellers are once again becoming accustomed to busier skies and more crowded airports as travel continues to climb toward—and past—pre-pandemic levels. In fact, one out of every four aircraft arriving at Newark Airport in New York City is more than 15 minutes late.

The good news is that visitors can occasionally pick between many airports within a single location (for example, in Chicago, between O’Hare and Midway). As a result, knowing which airport is statistically more likely to transport you to your destination on time is useful.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics provided us the data, which we crunched (BTS). A flight is considered delayed if it arrives 15 minutes or more beyond its stated arrival time. The data below pertains to flights that took place in the calendar year 2021 at the country’s 30 busiest airports.

If you’re aware of which airports experience the most frequent delays, you might be able to avoid these destinations entirely – or at least leave a bit of buffer time in your schedule. Here is the list of Top 10 ranked U.S. Airports with the most delays.


Which airports in the United States have the most arrival delays?

U.S. Airports With The Most Delays | worst airports for flight delays

If ever possible, avoid flying through these U.S. airports with the most delays for the next time you fly.

  • Newark (25% of flights delayed)
  • Orlando (24% of flights)
  • Fort Lauderdale (23% of flights)
  • Dallas/Fort Worth (22% of flights)
  • Las Vegas (21% of flights)
  • Denver (21% of flights)
  • Chicago Midway (21% of flights)
  • Tampa (21% of flights)
  • Baltimore (20% of flights)
  • New York JFK (20% of flights)

What Destinations Have the Worst Airports for Flights Delays?

It’s worth noting that the eastern side of the country has eight of the top ten most-delayed airports, so customers travelling in or out of that area should allow extra time for connections or transfers.


Which airports in the United States have the most on-time arrivals?

U.S. Airports With The Most Delays | worst airports for flight delays

If you want to arrive on time (or even early)!, fly into one of these airports.

  • Atlanta (12% of flights delayed)
  • Minneapolis/St Paul (12% of flights delayed)
  • Honolulu (13% of flights delayed)
  • Charlotte (14% of flights delayed
  • Detroit (14% of flights delayed)
  • Salt Lake City (of flights delayed)
  • Seattle (16% of flights delayed)
  • New York LaGuardia (16% of flights delayed)
  • Washington Dulles (17% of flights delayed)
  • San Francisco (17% of flights delayed)

Which Airline Should You Fly to Arrive On-Time?

Six of the top ten on-time airports are Delta hubs; in fact, Delta ranks second among the 13 main airlines operating in the United States in terms of on-time performance (after leader Hawaiian Airlines).

LaGuardia has the best on-time performance of the three main airports in the New York area for travellers.

Dulles International Airport (IAD) in Washington, DC, outperforms Baltimore and Reagan National Airports in terms of on-time performance.

San Francisco is remains in the top third of airports for on-time arrivals, despite its regular fog.

Which airport in the world has the most delays?

It’s critical to maintain a sense of perspective. While a 25% delay rate at Newark Airport in New York is not ideal, there is a major Asian hub where over half of inbound planes are delayed.

That honor goes to the Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta, Indonesia, which boasts a 48% delay rate. Mumbai, Hong Kong, Seoul Incheon, and Paris Charles de Gaulle round out the top five.

In fact, no US airport makes the top ten list of the worst international airports for delays; the list is rounded out by airports in Asia and Europe.

The 10 Airports in The World With The Most Delays

  • Soekarno-Hatta International Airport – Jakarta, Indonesia (48.1%)
  • Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport – Mumbai, India (39.6%)
  • Hong Kong International Airport – Hong Kong (36.8%)
  • Incheon International Airport – Seoul, South Korea (34.1%)
  • Charles De Gaulle Airport – Paris, France (33.9%)
  • Frankfurt Airport – Frankfurt, Germany (33.8%)
  • Kuala Lumpur International Airport – Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (33.7%)
  • Ninoy Aquino International Airport – Manila, Philippines (33.1%)
  • Schiphol Airport – Amsterdam, Netherlands (31.9%)
  • Heathrow Airport – London, United Kingdom (29.8%)

Getting Compensation For Delayed Flights

Passengers should be paid for flight delays that exceed a specific period of time in various places of the world. In this regard, the European Union is regarded as the most passenger-friendly, with delays of two hours or more demanding up to $700 in compensation. Other nations, such as the United States and Canada, guarantee compensation for overbooked flights and oblige airlines to cover your food and lodging if you are stranded overnight. In most circumstances, you have between six months and five years to initiate a compensation claim.

U.S. Airports With The Most Delays | worst airports for flight delays

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