Summer air travel is a mess, and flight delays and cancellations show no signs of letting up.
US airlines have canceled more than 100,000 flights this year, with 30,000 cancellations just since Memorial Day weekend, according to data from flight tracking site FlightAware.
Mounting disruptions come as the number of air travelers reaches pandemic-era highs. Flight cancellations in the United States are highest at New York-area airports, while three Florida airports make the top 10 for the most flight delays.
So who’s to blame for this messy summer travel season? Depends on whom you ask. Short-staffed airlines say the federal government is also short-staffed at air traffic control facilities.
“From an industry perspective in the United States, New York, Newark and Florida really are air traffic control challenges,” United Airlines CEO Scott Kirby told CNN’s Richard Quest.
But the Federal Aviation Administration puts blame back on airline staffing issues as well as bad weather and heavy air traffic. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently told CNN that he’s seeing improvements, but he still expects airlines to do better.
“Look, we are counting on airlines to deliver for passengers and to be able to service the tickets that they sell,” Buttigieg said.
No matter how the summer air travel chaos is explained, it’s passengers who are caught in the middle.
US airports with the most summer cancellations
A FlightAware analysis for CNN shows New York-area airports leading the nation for flight cancellations: Newark and LaGuardia are Nos. 1 and 2 among US airports for flight cancellations.
Nearly 8% of flights leaving Newark have been canceled since May 28 and more than 7% of those leaving LaGuardia have been canceled. The other major New York airport, JFK, comes in at No. 9.
The data covers the period from May 28 through July 13. Here are the US airports with the most summer cancellations with percentages of flights canceled:
- 1. Newark Liberty International Airport: 7.9%
- 2. LaGuardia Airport: 7.4%
- 3. Reagan National Airport: 5.4%
- 4. Raleigh-Durham International Airport: 4.3%
- 5. Cleveland Hopkins International Airport: 3.7%
- 6. Pittsburgh International Airport: 3.7%
- 7. Philadelphia International Airport: 3.6%
- 8. Boston Logan International Airport: 3.6%
- 9. John F. Kennedy International Airport: 3.5%
- 10. Charlotte Douglas International Airport: 3.4%
US airports with the most summer delays The FlightAware data also looks at summer delays.
Florida airports take three of the top 10 spots for the most flight delays this summer. A third of all fights from Orlando have been delayed, with more than a quarter of all flights delayed from Miami and Fort Lauderdale.
But the No. 1 airport for delays is Chicago Midway. New York airports are having trouble, too, with nearly a third of flights delayed at Newark and JFK airports.
Among the top 10 US airports for summer delays, all of them had at least a quarter of flights delayed. Here are the top 10 US airports for delays this summer with percentages of flights delayed:
- 1. Chicago Midway International Airport: 36%
- 2. Orlando International Airport: 33%
- 3. John F. Kennedy International Airport: 31.1%
- 4. Newark Liberty International Airport: 30%
- 5. Baltimore Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport: 30%
- 6. Miami International Airport: 28.3%
- 7. Charlotte Douglas International Airport: 27.8%
- 8. Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport: 27.2%
- 9. Denver International Airport: 27.2%
- 10. Harry Reid International Airport: 26.7%