Worst Major Airports for Christmas & New Year Travel Delays
Holidays · Aug 2025 – Jul 2026
Data through July 2026 · Last updated October 18, 2026
How much on-time departures drop during christmas & new year travel (2024-12-20–2025-01-03, 2025-12-20–2026-01-03) compared with all other days, at the 68 major airports.
First place goes to San Diego (SAN) (-19.3 pts); Oklahoma City (OKC) comes last of 68 (-0.5 pts).
The median across this list is -7.8 pts.
Top 15: change vs other days
San Diego (SAN)-19.3 pts
Fort Lauderdale (FLL)-15.6 pts
Oakland (OAK)-14.9 pts
New York (JFK)-14.8 pts
Baltimore (BWI)-14.2 pts
Sacramento (SMF)-14.0 pts
Hartford (BDL)-14.0 pts
San Francisco (SFO)-13.7 pts
Santa Ana (SNA)-13.3 pts
Buffalo (BUF)-13.3 pts
Burbank (BUR)-12.3 pts
Detroit (DTW)-11.5 pts
Boston (BOS)-11.4 pts
Orlando (MCO)-11.2 pts
Los Angeles (LAX)-11.1 pts
Full ranking
| # | Name | Change vs usual | Holiday on-time | Other days | Holiday departures |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Diego (SAN) | -19.3 pts | 59.6% | 78.9% | 8,039 |
| 2 | Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | -15.6 pts | 59.5% | 75.0% | 9,204 |
| 3 | Oakland (OAK) | -14.9 pts | 66.5% | 81.4% | 2,887 |
| 4 | New York (JFK) | -14.8 pts | 67.1% | 81.9% | 8,726 |
| 5 | Baltimore (BWI) | -14.2 pts | 62.7% | 76.9% | 7,827 |
| 6 | Sacramento (SMF) | -14.0 pts | 69.5% | 83.5% | 4,364 |
| 7 | Hartford (BDL) | -14.0 pts | 69.7% | 83.6% | 1,849 |
| 8 | San Francisco (SFO) | -13.7 pts | 66.8% | 80.5% | 11,926 |
| 9 | Santa Ana (SNA) | -13.3 pts | 69.5% | 82.8% | 3,638 |
| 10 | Buffalo (BUF) | -13.3 pts | 68.4% | 81.7% | 1,543 |
| 11 | Burbank (BUR) | -12.3 pts | 70.6% | 83.0% | 2,682 |
| 12 | Detroit (DTW) | -11.5 pts | 70.5% | 82.0% | 9,552 |
| 13 | Boston (BOS) | -11.4 pts | 68.4% | 79.8% | 10,396 |
| 14 | Orlando (MCO) | -11.2 pts | 66.7% | 77.9% | 14,423 |
| 15 | Los Angeles (LAX) | -11.1 pts | 72.2% | 83.3% | 16,104 |
| 16 | Chicago (MDW) | -11.0 pts | 67.0% | 78.0% | 5,789 |
| 17 | Reno (RNO) | -10.9 pts | 73.0% | 83.9% | 1,772 |
| 18 | San Jose (SJC) | -10.6 pts | 74.2% | 84.8% | 3,757 |
| 19 | Newark (EWR) | -10.5 pts | 70.3% | 80.8% | 10,057 |
| 20 | West Palm Beach/Palm Beach (PBI) | -10.4 pts | 65.6% | 76.0% | 3,311 |
| 21 | Cleveland (CLE) | -10.3 pts | 73.7% | 84.0% | 3,141 |
| 22 | San Juan (SJU) | -10.1 pts | 68.9% | 79.0% | 3,935 |
| 23 | Fort Myers (RSW) | -9.8 pts | 71.2% | 81.0% | 4,004 |
| 24 | Boise (BOI) | -9.3 pts | 77.2% | 86.5% | 1,896 |
| 25 | Tampa (TPA) | -9.2 pts | 71.0% | 80.2% | 7,147 |
| 26 | Portland (PDX) | -9.2 pts | 76.8% | 86.0% | 5,072 |
| 27 | Minneapolis (MSP) | -9.0 pts | 74.7% | 83.7% | 8,862 |
| 28 | Philadelphia (PHL) | -9.0 pts | 70.8% | 79.8% | 7,332 |
| 29 | Atlanta (ATL) | -8.7 pts | 71.7% | 80.4% | 24,615 |
| 30 | Columbus (CMH) | -8.4 pts | 75.2% | 83.6% | 3,247 |
| 31 | St. Louis (STL) | -8.4 pts | 71.5% | 79.9% | 5,130 |
| 32 | Ontario (ONT) | -8.1 pts | 76.1% | 84.2% | 2,087 |
| 33 | Albuquerque (ABQ) | -8.0 pts | 76.3% | 84.3% | 2,012 |
| 34 | Dallas (DAL) | -7.9 pts | 66.1% | 74.0% | 6,154 |
| 35 | Las Vegas (LAS) | -7.8 pts | 70.4% | 78.2% | 14,263 |
| 36 | Omaha (OMA) | -7.7 pts | 76.4% | 84.1% | 1,980 |
| 37 | Pittsburgh (PIT) | -7.5 pts | 77.3% | 84.8% | 3,157 |
| 38 | Milwaukee (MKE) | -7.5 pts | 75.2% | 82.6% | 2,125 |
| 39 | Salt Lake City (SLC) | -7.4 pts | 78.5% | 85.9% | 9,525 |
| 40 | Anchorage (ANC) | -7.4 pts | 78.6% | 86.0% | 1,223 |
| 41 | Chicago (ORD) | -7.2 pts | 70.2% | 77.5% | 24,184 |
| 42 | Washington (IAD) | -7.2 pts | 78.1% | 85.3% | 4,525 |
| 43 | Louisville (SDF) | -7.1 pts | 76.7% | 83.9% | 1,554 |
| 44 | New York (LGA) | -7.1 pts | 73.3% | 80.4% | 9,376 |
| 45 | Cincinnati (CVG) | -7.1 pts | 76.5% | 83.5% | 2,751 |
| 46 | Jacksonville (JAX) | -7.0 pts | 75.5% | 82.5% | 2,512 |
| 47 | Miami (MIA) | -6.9 pts | 69.8% | 76.7% | 10,188 |
| 48 | Charlotte (CLT) | -6.7 pts | 71.7% | 78.4% | 15,752 |
| 49 | Seattle (SEA) | -6.7 pts | 74.6% | 81.4% | 12,445 |
| 50 | Houston (IAH) | -6.7 pts | 73.3% | 80.0% | 9,163 |
| 51 | Indianapolis (IND) | -6.6 pts | 77.3% | 83.9% | 3,690 |
| 52 | Raleigh/Durham (RDU) | -6.4 pts | 76.3% | 82.7% | 4,542 |
| 53 | Austin (AUS) | -6.1 pts | 72.8% | 78.9% | 6,955 |
| 54 | Phoenix (PHX) | -6.0 pts | 74.3% | 80.3% | 17,465 |
| 55 | Kansas City (MCI) | -6.0 pts | 76.5% | 82.6% | 3,851 |
| 56 | Honolulu (HNL) | -5.9 pts | 80.8% | 86.7% | 5,211 |
| 57 | Kahului (OGG) | -5.8 pts | 81.4% | 87.2% | 2,301 |
| 58 | Nashville (BNA) | -5.8 pts | 72.0% | 77.8% | 8,059 |
| 59 | Denver (DEN) | -5.6 pts | 72.9% | 78.5% | 26,436 |
| 60 | Memphis (MEM) | -5.2 pts | 77.3% | 82.5% | 1,734 |
| 61 | Norfolk (ORF) | -5.1 pts | 77.9% | 83.1% | 1,539 |
| 62 | Houston (HOU) | -4.9 pts | 73.0% | 77.9% | 4,640 |
| 63 | Charleston (CHS) | -4.5 pts | 77.6% | 82.1% | 1,904 |
| 64 | Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) | -4.4 pts | 69.9% | 74.2% | 25,129 |
| 65 | New Orleans (MSY) | -4.3 pts | 75.2% | 79.5% | 4,029 |
| 66 | San Antonio (SAT) | -3.6 pts | 79.7% | 83.3% | 3,407 |
| 67 | Washington (DCA) | -2.8 pts | 74.2% | 76.9% | 9,468 |
| 68 | Oklahoma City (OKC) | -0.5 pts | 83.0% | 83.5% | 1,860 |
80%+ good 70–79.9% fair <70% poor