Northeast Winter Flight Delays: What Three Years of BTS Data Shows
People expect winter to be the worst season for Northeast flights. The BTS record is more mixed. For December to February, flights departing BOS, EWR, JFK, LGA and PHL ran later than the rest of the year at BOS and LGA and no later at EWR, JFK and PHL. July was the worst delay month at all 5. Cancellations were higher in winter at BOS, JFK, LGA and PHL and not higher at EWR; the widest gap is at BOS: 2.03% in winter against 1.43% the rest of the year. Figures cover January 2023 to December 2025, with cancellations for 2024 to 2025.
Delay window: January 2023 to December 2025. Cancellation window: 2024 to 2025. Last updated: 2026-10-01. Delayed means a flight arrived 15 or more minutes after its scheduled arrival, the BTS and DOT on-time standard. Cancelled and diverted flights are excluded from delay rates. Historical BTS figures are separate from DelayGuard's per-flight model probability and from live FAA, weather and ground-delay status.
Last reviewed: 2026-10-01.
What the numbers say
The table compares each airport's December to February delay rate with its rate for the other nine months. A positive gap means winter ran later. Winter gaps are positive at BOS (+1.4 points) and LGA (+0.6 points).
Delay rates only count flights that operated. A storm that cancels a flight removes it from the delay figure and adds it to the cancellation figure, so read the two columns together.
How to book a Northeast winter flight
Book the earliest departure you can. A morning flight is flown before the day's schedule has backed up, and it leaves the most time to rebook the same day if it cancels.
Leave a long connection, or book a nonstop. Check the airport pages below for the worst hours at your airport, and check the FAA's live status the day you fly.
Airport table
Delay rate in December to February vs the rest of the year| Airport | December to February delayed 15+ min | Flights | Other months | Gap (points) | December to February cancelled | Other months cancelled | Worst month |
|---|
| Logan (BOS) | 23.5% | 94,296 | 22.1% | +1.4 | 2.03% | 1.43% | July (30.6%) |
| Newark (EWR) | 21.5% | 92,282 | 24.1% | -2.6 | 2.46% | 2.54% | July (36.5%) |
| JFK | 22.9% | 84,296 | 22.9% | 0.0 | 2.06% | 1.89% | July (33.0%) |
| LaGuardia (LGA) | 21.1% | 106,876 | 20.5% | +0.6 | 2.85% | 2.62% | July (30.6%) |
| Philadelphia (PHL) | 22.3% | 60,526 | 23.5% | -1.2 | 1.96% | 1.85% | July (34.8%) |
Predict your flight
Questions
- Are Northeast flights more delayed in winter?
- Not uniformly. Winter ran later than the rest of the year at BOS and LGA, using BTS data from January 2023 to December 2025. July was the worst delay month at 5 of 5.
- Do winter storms cause more cancellations?
- Cancellation rates for December to February versus the rest of the year are in the table above, using 2024 to 2025 data. Winter was higher at BOS, JFK, LGA and PHL.
- What is the best way to avoid a winter delay?
- Fly the first flight of the day and avoid tight connections. Delay rates are lowest in the early hours at every airport DelayGuard covers.