The 5 Airports Where You Can Expect The Most Delayed Holiday Season Flights

Travel is a part of life that we are actively encouraged to partake in: it broadens our horizons, teaches us about the world, and can lead to some of the most memorable experiences of our lives. But for many of us, travel isn't always an exploratory exercise — often it means simply going back home for the holidays, a time at which airports often lose their romance and become epicenters of pure unadulterated stress.

MarketWatch Guides has found that 61% of Americans surveyed planned to travel during the holidays in 2024, with just over a third of the population planning to use air travel. It is no wonder then that despite the best efforts of airport staff and airlines, the holiday season can lead to severe delays. A study by Palm Paradise Realty Group, a professional concierge real estate service based in Florida, has revealed the five airports that are likely to see the most delayed flights this holiday season. "With packed airports, unpredictable weather, and lines that feel longer than Santa's naughty list, the journey to festive joy can bring more stress than sparkle," said the group, which suggests booking early morning flights where possible to minimize disruption to your journey and to avoid flying too close to Christmas when delays are most likely. Snacks, drinks, and sources of entertainment — especially for children and young travelers — can also help make delays more bearable.

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Bad news for those traveling to or from the Golden City this holiday season: San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has topped the charts when it comes to delays. According to statistics analyzed by Palm Paradise Realty Group, San Francisco experiences a total of 1568 delays. The airport also places ninth in terms of delay times, with an average delay time of 55 minutes. In total, 3.71% of flights from San Francisco International Airport experience delays, the second most of any airport in the country.

Among its many nicknames, San Francisco is sometimes referred to as "Fog City" and Palm Paradise Realty Group highlights that the city's misty weather can often affect visibility and cause disruption to flights, especially during the winter months when weather becomes more difficult for meteorologists to predict.

Coming in second in terms of the total number of delays is Las Vegas' Harry Reid Airport (LAS) — formerly McCarran International Airport – which just barely outperforms San Francisco International Airport with a total of 1511 delays. Thankfully for those traveling through Harry Reid International, delays are far shorter on average than at San Francisco — Harry Reid doesn't place within the top 10 in terms of delay times — though 2.25% percent of total flights from the airport are delayed, making Harry Reid the fifth worst American airport overall by that metric.

In 2023, Harry Reid International Airport topped the list in terms of overall annual delays, according to statistics released by the Federal Aviation Administration. Again, weather has been cited as a major cause of delays, though renovations at the airport and an influx of passengers post-pandemic also came into play. Whether LAS can work toward reversing its poor performance in terms of disruption as we enter the holiday season is a burning question for travelers.

Thankfully for travelers who are able to avoid San Francisco International Airport and Harry Reid International Airport, there is a notable drop-off after second place in terms of overall airport delays. Coming in third on the list is Miami International Airport (MIA), which with 1073 total delays experiences hundreds fewer disruptions than SFO or LAS, but nevertheless may pose a hurdle for those taking holiday flights this year. In total, 1.88% of flights from Miami International Airport are subject to delays, per the data analyzed by Palm Paradise Realty Group. 

However, on the plus side, MIA doesn't rank in the top 10 when it comes to delay times, meaning that on average delays times are shorter than 50 minutes. "Miami's location in a subtropical climate zone can lead to storms and occasional high winds that further disrupt flight schedules," says Palm Paradise Realty Group, noting also that MIA operates a busy schedule of international flights which can occasionally compound delays.

Luckily for travelers flying through Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD) this holiday season, the airport performs comparatively well against others on this list by several metrics. Chicago O'Hare International Airport falls outside the top 10 in terms of delay times — meaning that the average delay is shorter than 50 minutes — and in terms of the percentage of overall flights that are subject to delays during the holiday season].

However, in terms of raw numbers, Chicago O'Hare International Airport, which is described as the best-connected airport in the country, comes fourth overall for delays, with 856. This is a decrease of more than 200 when compared to Miami International Airport. Chicago O'Hare International Airport has made headline news in recent years when flights have been heavily disrupted by weather during the holiday season. In December 2019, the airport made international headlines when dense fog led to the grounding of many flights on Christmas Eve, leading to travel chaos for countless travelers. A month earlier, the airport made headlines when a plane had skidded off the runway during a snowstorm. FYI, Chicago Midway (MDW) comes first in terms of length of delay, with the average delayed traveler arriving 127 minutes later than expected.

The fifth world American airport in terms of frequency of delays in New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK). With a total of 821, JFK beats Chicago O'Hare International Airport by just 35 delays, though the New York airport is arguably helped in that regard by handling around 5 million fewer passengers.

1.55% of flights at John F. Kennedy International Airport are subject to delays, according to Palm Paradise Realty Group's analysis, which makes it the ninth worst commercial airport in the country by that metric. 2024 has seen access to the airport affected for my travelers due to extensive renovation works, resulting in lane closures and road traffic, which has made traveling through the airport more stressful than ever for those arriving by car. Travelers have been advised to use mass transit, though there has been no confirmation in the media that the works are expected to affect those traveling during the holiday season.

The data presented in this article has been analyzed for our use by the Palm Paradise Realty Group, whose findings have also found Aspen-Pitkin County Airport (ASE) to be a poor performer in terms of delays. 5.35% of flights from the that airport are delayed, making it the worst performer in the country by that metric.

Palm Paradise Realty Group compiled its figures from the Federal Aviation Administration's OPSNET data portal. "The OPSNET data, which provides metrics on average delay times, total delay instances, and delay percentages, was cross-referenced with the commercial airport list to ensure consistency in airport code matching," their analysis explains.

Our article has followed the same metrics as Palm Paradise — total delays, average delays time in minutes, and percentage of flights delayed. "Based on these metrics, three separate tables were created, ranking airports by average delay time, total delays, and percentage of delayed flights, respectively," reads their report. "This ranking process allowed for a clear comparison of airports with higher delay averages, frequencies, and percentages, providing insights into delay trends across U.S. commercial service airports." We have supplemented this overview of the five U.S. airports that suffer the most delays with material taken from news reports where appropriate.