The U.S. Airports and Routes Most Likely to Face Delays, According to New Data

In 2025, approximately 1 billion passengers departed from U.S. airports. Nearly a quarter of those travelers, about 248 million, experienced a flight delay or cancellation, according to a recent report from AirHelp, an air passenger rights and flight tracking company.

While one-in-four odds of experiencing a flight disruption may sound daunting, AirHelp’s deep dive into the data, which is showcased in its 2025 USA Flight Disruption Report, offers helpful takeaways for travelers, including the most problematic months and the airports to avoid. Because history can sometimes repeat itself, such intel can be a helpful resource for travelers planning flights in 2026 and beyond.

“You can use this information to your advantage, particularly when choosing where to fly out of or—if you must—take a layover,” says Sally French, travel expert for personal finance company NerdWallet.

Here’s what else AirHelp’s recent report turned up, plus how travelers can make the most of the findings to avoid delays and travel disruptions in the future.

U.S. airports with the most flight delays

According to the report, Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD) experienced the most delays of any U.S. airport in 2025 with 28 percent of all flights delayed, but New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) had the most overall disruptions with 26 percent of flights delayed and 2.7 percent of flights canceled. Here are the airports that experienced the most delays in 2025 and the percentage of flights departing from those airports that saw delays.

1. Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD): 28 percent
2. Denver International Airport (DEN): 27 percent
3. Miami International Airport (MIA): 26 percent
4. New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR): 26 percent
5. New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA): 26 percent
6. Philadelphia International Airport (PHL): 26 percent
7. Ronald Regan Washington National Airport (DCA): 26 percent
8. New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport (JFK): 25 percent
9. Orlando International Airport (MCO): 25 percent
10. Washington Dulles Airport (IAD): 25 percent

Additionally, when it comes to flight delays and cancellations, flight routes matter. The most delayed route in 2025 was from Chicago O’Hare (ORD) to Frankfurt Airport (FRA) with 46 percent of those departures delayed. Washington Dulles (IAD) to Frankfurt came in second place with 43 percent of those flights delayed, and Miami International (MIA) to São Paulo Guarulhos came was the third most delayed route with 40 percent of flights on that route leaving late.

Most on-time airports in the U.S.

On the positive side, several airports had impressive rates of on-time departures in 2025, including:

1. Daniel K. Inouye International Airport in Honolulu (HNL): 84 percent of departures took off on time
2. Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC): 82 percent
3. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): 80 percent
4. San Francisco International Airport (SFO): 79 percent
5. Phoenix Sky Harbor (PHX): 78 percent
6. Minneapolis - St.Paul Airport (MSP): 78 percent
7. Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport (LAS): 77 percent
8. Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport (DTW): 77 percent
9. Seattle (SEA), Houston (IAH), Nashville (BNA), San Diego (SAN), Austin (AUS): 76 percent
10. Baltimore-Washington Airport (BWI): 75 percent

The most on time route from the United States in 2025 was from Honolulu to Tokyo Narita (NRT) with 95 percent of all flights having an on-time departure.

Months of the year with the most flight disruptions

The month of July experienced the most disruptions in 2025, with 31 percent of U.S. air travel passengers experiencing a flight delay or cancellation due to severe thunderstorms across the East Coast and Central U.S. However, June and December were tied for second place with 30 percent of flights disrupted.

One of the biggest U.S. flight disruptions of 2025 was the prolonged federal government shutdown from October 1 through November 12, which strained air traffic control and TSA staff who were working without pay. From November 6 to 12, the FAA reduced air traffic by 10 percent at 40 airports, resulting in 32 percent of flights experiencing extensive delays or cancellations. The impact of the shutdown on flights likely lingered well into December.

Minimizing disruptions and receiving compensation

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has officially rolled back a Biden-era rule that would have required airlines to compensate passengers for delays of three hours or more. As of now, in the U.S., compensation is mostly limited to denied boarding due to overbooking.

According to Mike Arnot, spokesperson for Cirium, a leading aviation analytics company that also compiles annual rankings for the world’s most on-time airports and airlines, passengers should “understand the role that various airlines play in the market” and how that affects their chances of flight disruptions.

Arnot notes that budget carriers may have limited resources because of their business models as point-to-point carriers. It is a different model than that of larger carriers, which incorporate connecting flights into what’s known as the hub-and-spoke model.

“If you miss your connecting flight, the larger so-called network carriers might have more options for you,” Arnot explains. “They can put you on a different airline where they have a relationship, for example.”

This article was originally published in February 2025 and was updated on February 19, 2026.