What are the worst airports to fly into during winter?

As millions of people prepare to fly for the holidays, a look at airport delays and cancellations can give travelers a preview of whether they’ll need to hold their patience during the winter months.

AAA expects winter travel to be very close to pre-pandemic levels and warned that airlines have taken steps to avoid long delays.

“Airlines have cut back on less popular/profitable routes to have adequate manpower to avoid flight delays and cancellations. Those flying between the most popular routes will see airfares that are 22% more expensive, with an average of $166 round trip, AAA said in a news release.

Despite the airlines’ best intentions, a FOX Weather analysis of data provided by FlightAware found which airports are home to the most problems from December through February.

During the past six winter months, Newark Liberty International took the top spot for the highest percentage of delayed and canceled flights among the largest U.S. airports. Based on scheduled flight plans, an average of 29 per cent of aircraft faced either delay or cancellation.

Operators of Newark, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, did not respond to comment for the story, but a look at climatological data shows an average of more than 20 inches of snow in northern parts of the state, which is plenty to play with. Mayhem with planes arriving and departing.

“Northern New Jersey is close enough to the paths of storms that cross the Great Lakes region and down the St. Lawrence Valley to receive part of its precipitation from that source,” said the Garden State climatologist.

Other airports with higher rates of combined cancellations and delays include Denver International, Chicago’s O’Hare International and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Nine out of 10 airports that top Fox Weather’s list for most delays and cancellations typically experience some type of winter precipitation, which can slow or halt airline travel.

Which airport usually has the most cancellations?

A winter storm affecting a major airport hub along the I-95 corridor could lead to thousands of cancellations.

Depending on the number of scheduled flights, an airport may have a higher cancellation rate than a city with a higher volume of canceled aircraft.

Not every delay or cancellation is the same, meaning that a city with a high volume may actually rate lower if they are home to a large number of scheduled flights.

For example, during the winter of 2019-’20, Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport had more than 108,000 scheduled flights, compared to more than 48,000 at Boston’s Logan International Airport. Boston had a higher share of canceled flights than Chicago, making it rank higher on the list of top cancellations.

A flyer was more likely to cancel in Boston than in the Windy City, according to Fox Weather’s analysis of available data.

Over the past two winters, the ranking of average cancellations put Boston in the lead for the highest rating of canceled flights, followed by Newark, O’Hare, LaGuardia, and Denver.

Which cities have the most delays?

The airport that comes in second on our list for most cancellations tops the list for most delays.

Over the past six winter months, Newark has averaged more than 12,000 delays per winter season. Other airports in the top five include Chicago, Denver, Minneapolis and Orlando.

Once again, the number of scheduled flights played a role in each airport’s ranking.

Orlando operated more scheduled flights than Minneapolis, meaning it ranked higher than the home of Mickey Mouse due to delays in the Twin Cities.

Still, Orlando isn’t known for its winter storms, and the last snow event to affect the area was 45 years ago when an arctic front helped build up a large swath of snow.

So, why did Orlando rank high on the list of delays? Travel experts say there’s more to Mother Nature’s effects on the aviation industry than just that.

Florida airports rank high despite lack of winter weather

Florida is known as the Sunshine State, where snow events are considered rare and temperatures usually stay above freezing, but airports like Orlando and Miami are ahead of many other southern cities for delays and cancellations.

Travel experts believe the gridlock in Florida’s skies has caused lingering issues for major airlines over the years that has drawn the attention of the Federal Aviation Administration.

“Florida is a work in progress. Not only did airline service increase at Florida airports during the pandemic, but so did private aviation — especially for airports like Palm Beach. So, you have airlines for the same amount of airspace Private planes are competing. No one anticipated the huge surge in private aviation during the pandemic – we’re still up about 20% compared to 2019,” said Kathleen Bangs, a former commercial airline pilot and current FlightAware spokesperson he said.

Bangs said opening the passageway to the ocean could help ease stress on the system, but it could also lead to other problems.

“However one of the issues with opening up and using those routes is that so many aircraft do not have life rafts, life vests etc. readily onboard – and if you need to swap one aircraft for another due to a mechanical problem or late arrival – then you may not have the necessary equipment on board,” Bangs said.