Worst US Airports for Flight Delays: 2026 Rankings
DelayGuard Research Team. Published January 22, 2026. Updated October 1, 2026. 8 min read.
Figures checked against DelayGuard BTS tables on 2026-10-01. Canonical page: US airport delay rankings.
The ten airports where flights ran late most often are not the ones many travelers expect. In DelayGuard's BTS table for January 2023 to December 2025, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and Dallas/Fort Worth lead, and the three New York airports are spread through the middle and lower half. The network-wide delay rate is 21.2%.
Every figure here comes from the airport delay rankings: flights departing each airport, counted as delayed when they arrive 15 or more minutes late. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from the delay rate. Cancellations cover 2024 to 2025.
The 10 Airports With the Highest Delay Rates
| Rank | Airport | Code | Delay rate | Flights in sample | Cancellation rate | Scheduled after 8 PM | Worst month |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood | FLL | 27.3% | 264,272 | 1.44% | 38.8% | July (34.6%) |
| 2 | Miami | MIA | 27.0% | 319,024 | 1.49% | 32.3% | July (36.7%) |
| 3 | Dallas/Fort Worth | DFW | 26.7% | 893,078 | 2.31% | 34.0% | June (36.3%) |
| 4 | Orlando | MCO | 25.9% | 476,054 | 1.43% | 40.0% | July (38.1%) |
| 5 | Charlotte | CLT | 24.9% | 598,576 | 1.53% | 33.2% | July (38.5%) |
| 6 | Denver | DEN | 24.7% | 902,804 | 0.95% | 32.2% | June (33.8%) |
| 7 | Chicago O'Hare | ORD | 24.2% | 850,994 | 1.56% | 33.1% | July (34.3%) |
| 8 | Newark Liberty | EWR | 23.4% | 376,766 | 2.52% | 34.5% | July (36.5%) |
| 9 | Houston Bush | IAH | 23.3% | 339,044 | 1.66% | 29.0% | July (33.9%) |
| 10 | Philadelphia | PHL | 23.2% | 282,615 | 1.88% | 31.1% | July (34.8%) |
Source: BTS On-Time Reporting, January 2023 to December 2025 (cancellations 2024 to 2025). The after-8-PM column is the share of flights scheduled after 8 PM that ran late.
What Stands Out
- Florida is the problem region. Fort Lauderdale (27.3%), Miami (27.0%) and Orlando (25.9%) all rank in the top four. Fort Lauderdale and Orlando also have the worst evenings in the table: 38.8% and 40.0% of flights scheduled after 8 PM ran late.
- Dallas/Fort Worth combines delays and cancellations. It ranks 3rd for delays and has a 2.31% cancellation rate, higher than any other top-ten airport except Newark (2.52%).
- Newark is the New York airport to watch. It ranks 8th at 23.4% and cancels 2.52% of flights. JFK ranks 12th (22.9%) and LaGuardia 17th (20.6%), though LaGuardia has the highest cancellation rate in the table (2.67%). See the JFK, LGA and EWR comparison.
- Philadelphia ranks 10th at 23.2%, close to Newark and JFK.
Most Reliable Airports for Comparison
| Airport | Delay rate | Cancellation rate | Scheduled before 8 AM |
|---|---|---|---|
| SLC | 16.7% | 0.57% | 11.3% |
| MSP | 18.3% | 0.85% | 11.5% |
| LAX | 18.4% | 0.75% | 9.2% |
| PHX | 19.2% | 0.66% | 7.8% |
| DTW | 19.3% | 1.07% | 12.2% |
The gap between the worst airport (Fort Lauderdale) and the best (Salt Lake City) is 10.6 percentage points.
When the Worst Airports Are Worst
July is the worst month at 8 of the 10 airports above. Dallas/Fort Worth and Denver peak in June (36.3% and 33.8%). Charlotte's July rate is 38.5% and Orlando's 38.1%.
Evenings are the other pressure point. Across these ten airports, flights scheduled before 8 AM ran late between 9.4% and 14.3% of the time, and flights scheduled after 8 PM between 29.0% and 40.0%. Booking the first departure of the day is the simplest change available. See morning versus evening flight delays.
BTS measures outcomes, not causes, so these tables show when and where flights ran late and not why.
Airport Pages
FLL | MIA | DFW | MCO | CLT | DEN | ORD | EWR | IAH | PHL
Use DelayGuard's predictor to see risk for a specific flight, and the cancellation rates page for cancellation history.