Stuck at the Airport? These Airports are the Worst Offenders

During these days of winter when flights are delayed as snow piles up on the runways, a new survey shows the best and worst airports to find yourself in when that flight cancellation alert starts blinking.

In an effort to help empower passengers to make more informed decisions when booking flights, InsureMyTrip worked with statistics from the The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) to reveal which of the country’s busiest airports are more prone to flight cancellations and what passengers should know about airline cancellation policies.

BTS tracks the on-time performance of domestic flights operated by large air carriers. Rankings were based on the flight cancellation rate per airport. Airports on the list also reported 19,000 or more scheduled flights for 2019.

• Surprising, not Chicago O’Hare, but Chicago Midway International reported the highest cancellation rates in the country, bad storms and the groundings of 737 Max jets likely contributed to the spike. Airports in Honolulu and Kahului, HI reported the lowest number of airline cancellation events.

• Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International continues to make an impressive on-time performance comeback in 2019.

• New York’s LaGuardia no longer reports the highest percentage of canceled flights in the country. The NYC airport now ranks 8th, a significant improvement.

• California wildfires led to a significant increase in flight cancellations for Burbank last year.

• Salt Lake City International and Kahului Airport maintain a consistent reputation for punctuality, celebrating another year of shocking low cancellations.

This ranking shows U.S. airports with the most and least percentage of flights canceled. This updated list is based on newly released data, which now includes all of 2019.

1. Chicago, IL: Chicago Midway International (highest cancellation rate)

2. Burbank, CA: Bob Hope

3. Chicago, IL: Chicago O’Hare International

4. Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International

5. Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Niagara International

6. Houston, TX: William P Hobby

7. Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field

8. New York, NY: LaGuardia

9. Grand Rapids, MI: Gerald R. Ford International

10. Norfolk, VA: Norfolk International

11. Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: Dallas/Fort Worth International

12. Washington, DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National

13. Baltimore, MD: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall

14. Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia International

15. Milwaukee, WI: General Mitchell International

16. Providence, RI: Theodore Francis Green State

17. San Francisco, CA: San Francisco International

18. Charleston, SC: Charleston AFB/International

19. St. Louis, MO: St Louis Lambert International

20. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland-Hopkins International

21. Birmingham, AL: Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International

22. Boston, MA: Logan International

23. Memphis, TN: Memphis International

24. Richmond, VA: Richmond International

25. Denver, CO: Denver International

26. Kansas City, MO: Kansas City International

27. Oakland, CA: Metropolitan Oakland International

28. Columbus, OH: John Glenn Columbus International

29. Hartford, CT: Bradley International

30. Oklahoma City, OK: Will Rogers World

31. Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis International

32. Omaha, NE: Eppley Airfield

33. New Orleans, LA: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International

34. Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh International

35. Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville International

36. Knoxville, TN: McGhee Tyson

37. Louisville, KY: Louisville Muhammad Ali International

38. San Jose, CA: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International

39. Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International

40. Nashville, TN: Nashville International

41. Orlando, FL: Orlando International

42. Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Douglas International

43. Raleigh/Durham, NC: Raleigh-Durham International

44. Washington, DC: Washington Dulles International

45. New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International

46. San Diego, CA: San Diego International

47. West Palm Beach/Palm Beach, FL: Palm Beach International

48. El Paso, TX: El Paso International

49. Ontario, CA: Ontario International

50. Anchorage, AK: Ted Stevens Anchorage International

51. Reno, NV: Reno/Tahoe International

52. Tucson, AZ: Tucson International

53. San Antonio, TX: San Antonio International

54. Houston, TX: George Bush Intercontinental/Houston

55. Austin, TX: Austin – Bergstrom International

56. Sacramento, CA: Sacramento International

57. Tampa, FL: Tampa International

58. Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Sky Harbor International

59. Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque International Sunport

60. Santa Ana, CA: John Wayne Airport-Orange County

61. Las Vegas, NV: McCarran International

62. Fort Lauderdale, FL: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International

63. Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles International

64. Fort Myers, FL: Southwest Florida International

65. Miami, FL: Miami International

66. Seattle, WA: Seattle/Tacoma International

67. Detroit, MI: Detroit Metro Wayne County

68. Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis-St Paul International

69. Spokane, WA: Spokane International

70. San Juan, PR: Luis Munoz Marin International

71. Portland, OR: Portland International

72. Boise, ID: Boise Air Terminal

73. Atlanta, GA: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International

74. Honolulu, HI: Daniel K Inouye International

75. Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City International

76. Kahului, HI: Kahului Airport

Airline Cancellation Policies

Flight cancellation policies vary by airline and circumstance. When an airline cancels a flight, most will try to rebook passengers on the next available flight. Airlines are not required to reimburse travelers for losses incurred as a result of a canceled flight. These losses may include such as a prepaid, non-refundable:

* Hotel room

* All-inclusive vacation or resort

* A cruise

* A tour or safari

* Concert or entertainment tickets