The 10 Worst Airports for Travel Disruptions This Summer

Travel nightmare. Local news stations introduced their reports with that headline and very similar ones on Tuesday, as the threat of severe weather led to the cancellation of hundreds of flights destined for the East Coast. For weeks, experts have been warning about potential widespread travel interruptions this summer—airports worldwide are facing a surge in post-pandemic travel, staffing shortages, mechanical issues, and the threat of strikes. (And this week's weather events reminded us that Mother Nature won't be ignored either.)  How annoyed can you look forward to being this summer? AirHelp has named the 10 worst airports for potential travel disruptions. To do this, they looked at just over 673,000 international and domestic flights from the 672 US airports that serviced more than 5,000 flights in May. These are the 10 airports with the highest percentage of flight cancellations and delays—ranked, with the #1 worst at the very end. Read on.

Flights disrupted: 22.57%

Earlier this week, problems with a communications system caused flight delays and redirections at D.C.-area airports, including BWI. Passengers were stuck for hours and left searching for other ways to get home, NBC Washington reported. "Stressful and a hot mess to be honest," one passenger said. 

Flights disrupted: 22.62%

Last summer, Dallas Love Field was also one of the worst airports for travel disruptions, when 35% of its flights were pushed back or scratched from the schedule. In 2022, only 75% of its flights arrived on time, according to Forbes Advisor. 

Flights disrupted: 25.38%

DFW is the second-busiest airport in the country (after Hartsfield-Jackson in Atlanta) and its high percentage of flight disruptions reflects its massive traffic. "DFW is definitely going to be high volume, and high volume just means that on a percentage basis, more people are going to be disrupted when a disruption happens," said Hayley Berg, lead economist at airline tracker Hopper.

Flights disrupted: 26.29%

Severe weather in the Florida area has hobbled airports in the region, including FLL. It has seen cancellations and delays resulting from an FAA system outage in March, historic flooding in April, and huge amounts of rainfall in the last week. Add a major influx of tourists, and you have a recipe for a large percentage of flight disruptions.

Flights disrupted: 26.67%

As with Ft. Lauderdale/Hollywood International, Orlando International has seen more than one-quarter of its flights canceled or delayed. One restaurant in the MCO terminal is trying to soften the blow: On Monday, WFTV reported that Bahama Breeze will give you a free margarita if you show them an email from the airline stating your flight has been canceled between July 1 and 8.

Flights disrupted: 27.03%

San Francisco International has earned the dubious distinction of "slowest airport on the West Coast," as reported by SFGate in April 2022. According to Bounce.com, passengers stand in line for 45 minutes and 56 seconds, including 27 minutes, 48 seconds, in the TSA screening line and 18 minutes, 8 seconds, for passport control. On top of that, it's now in the top five airports nationwide for flight delays and cancellations.

Flights disrupted: 28.83%

Trouble in paradise: Nearly a third of flights at Honolulu's airport were delayed or canceled in May. The facility has reportedly been struggling to juggle the post-pandemic surge in passenger volume with several delayed construction and improvement projects.  

Flights disrupted: 29.58%

Not only were nearly 30% of Denver International Airport's flights delayed or canceled in May, the airport was an unpleasant scene during this week's East Coast weather issues, as the Denver Post reported that stranded travelers slept on cots in the airport overnight. The reason: DEN (known as DIA locally) is a hub for United Airlines, and United was the airline that canceled the most flights. "This issue is a United issue," DIA spokeswoman Ashley Forest told the Post.

Flights disrupted: 31.77%

IAH has earned the title of "Worst Airport in the Country"—by hometown paper The Houston Chronicle. The airport is currently in the middle of a major construction project, and officials have warned travelers to add extra time to their itineraries to account for delays.

Flights disrupted: 34.61%

Las Vegas's airport boasted the most disruptions in the country this May. In the famously weather-free desert, how could that be? Tourism is likely the answer. "Airports that in the spring have heavy traffic … oftentimes haven't adjusted the staffing in order to handle that peak season," says Eric Napoli, vice president of legal strategy at AirHelp. "You'll see those types of airports performing particularly poorly."