The World’s Worst Airports for Flight Cancellations and Delays

To assist travellers in making more informed travel plans, the aviation intelligence business FlightAware has gathered fresh data that shows which foreign airports experienced the most aircraft cancellations from May 27 through July 31 of this year. The worst airports in the world for flight cancellations are listed below, along with suggested substitute airports.

John F. Kennedy International, the busiest airport in New York, fared better, with just 3.3 percent of scheduled flights being cancelled, placing it thirty-first on FlightAware’s ranking. However, 32.5% of planes do depart the hub late. Nevertheless, finding different options in the area can ease your annoyances. New York Stewart, a far more tranquil international airport option hidden deep in the Hudson Valley, is around 70 miles north or an about 90-minute drive away. The brand-new airline Play offers nonstop service from that location to Reykjavik, Iceland, with connections throughout Europe.

There are many cancellations and delays at other American airports.
Americans travelling abroad are not the only ones who have been abandoned by American airports. Other domestic airports with high rates of delays and cancellations include Reagan National Airport in Washington, D.C., which came in at number 21 on FlightAware’s list with 5.1 percent of its flights cancelled and 27.9 percent delayed this summer. Other domestic airports on the list are Charlotte Douglas Airport, which came in at number 29, with 3.3 percent of flights cancelled and 29.8 percent of flights delayed, Boston Logan Airport, which came in at number 27, and St. Louis Lambert Airport, which came in at number 24, with 3.1 percent of flights cancelled and 24.4 percent of flights delayed.

International airports:
International airports are experiencing a fair share of operational issues outside of the United States as well. Toronto Pearson Airport in Canada ranks 15th in North America with a 6.5 percent flight cancellation rate and a startling 55.8 percent of flights delayed this summer. The Toronto airport, which continues to score highly among North American major airports for aircraft cancellations and delays, has been beset this summer by personnel and operational concerns, according to a FlightAware spokeswoman.

Australia is represented by two cities in the South Pacific: Melbourne Tullamarine (MEL) in 17th rank with a 6% cancellation rate and Sydney in 18th place with a 5.8% cancellation rate. The worst numbers in Asia outside of China are at Jakarta’s airport, where 33.1 percent of flights are delayed and 6.6 percent of flights are cancelled, placing it 11th overall.

The worst airports in Europe include Frankfurt in Germany, which is ranked 24th with a 4% cancellation rate, and Oslo Gardermoen in Norway, which is ranked 14th with a 6.5 percent cancellation rate. “Frankfurt, frequently regarded as one of the best-run airports in Europe, has, like other significant airports in Europe, been experiencing staffing issues, even suffering from a one-day strike by the ground workers union in July that resulted in widespread cancellations, “according to a representative for FlightAware. “In the last two months, Frankfurt rose from No. 50 on the list earlier in the year to No. 24.

Perhaps smaller airports are a better option:
The alternative to completely avoiding locations with high cancellation rates is for travellers to consider smaller, regional airports. The more passengers and flights an airport has, the greater the likelihood that something may go wrong. Smaller airports, on the other hand, are better attuned to the requirements of their flights.

For instance, Heathrow (ranked 42nd with a 2.2 percent cancellation rate and a 40.7 percent flight delay rate) and Gatwick (ranked 49th with a 1.9 percent cancellation rate and a 41.7 percent flight delay rate) aren’t the only airports in the English capital handling international travellers. According to Laura Citron, CEO of Visit London, London “offers alternative airports for foreign visits, such as London Stansted, London City Airport, and London Luton.” These three smaller airports all experience significantly less cancellations and delays; in fact, they experience so few that they didn’t make FlightAware’s list.

Airports internationally that experience the fewest cancellations:
Despite the summer’s impression that mayhem rules at most airports, there are thankfully still certain places in the world where things are run smoothly.

Tan Son Nhat Airport in Vietnam servicing Ho Chi Minh City, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi, Manila Ninoy Aquino, Singapore Changi, Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen, So Paulo-Guarulhos, Qatar’s Hamad in Doha, and Jeju Airport in South Korea are among those with less than 0.3 percent cancellation rate this summer (CJU).

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