Stats: Worst Summer Travel Destinations for Flight Disruptions

With a busy summer travel season still going strong, air passenger compensation company AirHelp has released a report on which popular summer vacation destinations are experiencing the most flight delays and cancellations. The company based its analysis on flight delay and cancellation data from March 31 – June 15. 

Chicago O’Hare was the worst off during that period, with almost 25 percent of all lights at the airport experiencing disruptions. Dallas – Fort Worth was second, at 24 percent disrupted flights, followed by Atlanta, at 16 percent. 

Overall, these United States airports experienced the highest number of disrupted flights between March and June 2019:

  1. Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD): 22,200 disrupted flights
  2. Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport (DFW): 18,000 disrupted flights
  3. Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport (ATL): 14,700 disrupted flights
  4. Denver International Airport (DEN): 13,600 disrupted flights
  5. Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT): 12,400 disrupted flights
  6. Los Angeles International Airport (LAX):  11,100 disrupted flights
  7. Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR): 10,900 disrupted flights
  8. Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH): 10,100 disrupted flights
  9. LaGuardia Airport (LGA): 9,700 disrupted flights
  10. John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK): 8,900 disrupted flights

In addition to domestic flights, AirHelp investigated international flights and found that of the most popular summer travel destinations for Americans, flights through travel hubs like Germany, Spain and Italy are most often delayed. If flying to the EU on an EU airline, passengers may be eligible to claim compensation for these disruptions under European law EC 261, the company noted. 

Between March 31 and June 15, around 267,000 of air travelers in Germany experienced a flight delay and were entitled to financial compensation of up to $700 per person. Around 20 percent of flights departing from Italy, Great Britain, France, and Turkey were disrupted, and in Spain, 16 percent of flights did not go according to plan.

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