US Airports Ranked By Flight Cancellation Rates

Staff Report

Wednesday, February 26th, 2020

In an effort to help empower passengers to make more informed decisions when booking flights, InsureMyTrip reveals which of the country's busiest airports are more prone to flight cancellations and what passengers should know about airline cancellation policies.

Summary:

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.

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.

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

Burbank, CA: Bob Hope

Chicago, IL: Chicago O'Hare International

Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International

Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Niagara International

Houston, TX: William P Hobby

Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field

New York, NY: LaGuardia

Grand Rapids, MI: Gerald R. Ford International

Norfolk, VA: Norfolk International

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

Washington, DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National

Baltimore, MD: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall

Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia International

Milwaukee, WI: General Mitchell International

Providence, RI: Theodore Francis Green State

San Francisco, CA: San Francisco International

Charleston, SC: Charleston AFB/International

St. Louis, MO: St Louis Lambert International

Cleveland, OH: Cleveland-Hopkins International

Birmingham, AL: Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International

Boston, MA: Logan International

Memphis, TN: Memphis International

Richmond, VA: Richmond International

Denver, CO: Denver International

Kansas City, MO: Kansas City International

Oakland, CA: Metropolitan Oakland International

Columbus, OH: John Glenn Columbus International

Hartford, CT: Bradley International

Oklahoma City, OK: Will Rogers World

Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis International

Omaha, NE: Eppley Airfield

New Orleans, LA: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International

Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh International

Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville International

Knoxville, TN: McGhee Tyson

Louisville, KY: Louisville Muhammad Ali International

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

Cincinnati, OH: Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International

Nashville, TN: Nashville International

Orlando, FL: Orlando International

Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Douglas International

Raleigh/Durham, NC: Raleigh-Durham International

Washington, DC: Washington Dulles International

New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International

San Diego, CA: San Diego International

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

El Paso, TX: El Paso International

Ontario, CA: Ontario International

Anchorage, AK: Ted Stevens Anchorage International

Reno, NV: Reno/Tahoe International

Tucson, AZ: Tucson International

San Antonio, TX: San Antonio International

Houston, TX: George Bush Intercontinental/Houston

Austin, TX: Austin - Bergstrom International

Sacramento, CA: Sacramento International

Tampa, FL: Tampa International

Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Sky Harbor International

Albuquerque, NM: Albuquerque International Sunport

Santa Ana, CA: John Wayne Airport-Orange County

Las Vegas, NV: McCarran International

Fort Lauderdale, FL: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International

Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles International

Fort Myers, FL: Southwest Florida International

Miami, FL: Miami International

Seattle, WA: Seattle/Tacoma International

Detroit, MI: Detroit Metro Wayne County

Minneapolis, MN: Minneapolis-St Paul International

Spokane, WA: Spokane International

San Juan, PR: Luis Munoz Marin International

Portland, OR: Portland International

Boise, ID: Boise Air Terminal

Atlanta, GA: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International

Honolulu, HI: Daniel K Inouye International

Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City International

Kahului, HI: Kahului Airport

Data Source: InsureMyTrip and The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). 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.

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

Travelers concerned about protecting any non-refundable, pre-paid trip expenses should buy travel insurance.