Travel Report: US Airports Prone to Flight Delays and Cancellations This Hurricane Season

New InsureMyTrip report ranks major airports with the best and worst on-time performance records during hurricane season.

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InsureMyTrip

May 24, 2018, 11:27 ET

WARWICK, R.I., May 24, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- In an effort to help empower passengers to make more informed decisions while traveling during the 2018 Atlantic hurricane season, InsureMyTrip predicts which US airports are most prone to delays and cancellations and what passengers should know about airline policies.

Summary:

Data Source: InsureMyTrip and The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Researchers at InsureMyTrip ranked the on-time performance for the busiest airports in the Eastern US during hurricane season.

Researchers ranked the on-time performance for the busiest airports in the Eastern US, the part of the country that is most impacted by tropical storms.*
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport is ranked the best overall for handling delays and cancellations during hurricane season. It is also the busiest.
Newark Liberty International, LaGuardia, and John F. Kennedy International are ranked the worst overall for delays and cancellations during hurricane season. All three airports are twice as likely to report a weather delay than any other airport on the list.
Passengers should anticipate flight disruptions when a storm develops. Nationwide, flight cancellations soared for major US airports in August and September last year due to storms.

This list ranks the overall on-time performance for the 25 busiest airports in the Eastern US during hurricane season.

Overall Ranking (Worst to Best)	Airport
1	Newark, NJ: Newark Liberty International
2	New York, NY: LaGuardia
3	New York, NY: John F. Kennedy International
4	Houston, TX: George Bush Intercontinental/Houston
5	Washington, DC: Ronald Reagan Washington National
6	Dallas/Fort Worth, TX: Dallas/Fort Worth International
7	Fort Lauderdale, FL: Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International
8	Philadelphia, PA: Philadelphia International
9	Boston, MA: Logan International
10	Baltimore, MD: Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall
11	Dallas, TX: Dallas Love Field
12	Orlando, FL: Orlando International
13	Houston, TX: William P Hobby
14	Miami, FL: Miami International
15	Washington, DC: Washington Dulles International
16	Fort Myers, FL: Southwest Florida International
17	Raleigh/Durham, NC: Raleigh-Durham International
18	Austin, TX: Austin - Bergstrom International
19	Tampa, FL: Tampa International
20	Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Douglas International
21	Pittsburgh, PA: Pittsburgh International
22	Nashville, TN: Nashville International
23	San Antonio, TX: San Antonio International
24	New Orleans, LA: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International
25	Atlanta, GA: Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International

Data Source: InsureMyTrip and The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Tip: Travelers booking flights in-or-out of storm-sensitive airports should consider travel insurance with specific coverage for hurricane-related delays and cancellations.

Peak months for flight cancellations
Peak months for hurricane and tropical storm activity also appears to correlate with a higher number of canceled flights nationwide. For example, the highest percentage of all flights canceled in 2017 were reported during August and September. These months also experienced high storm activity along the Atlantic and Gulf Coast.

Month	Arrival Delays	Delayed (%)	Flights Canceled	Canceled (%)	Diverted	Flight Operations
January	97,699	21.71%	8,886	1.97%	1,486	450,017
February	64,264	15.65%	6,312	1.54%	980	410,517
March	88,638	18.14%	8,527	1.75%	917	488,597
April	92,143	19.67%	7,398	1.58%	954	468,329
May	96,680	19.87%	4,039	0.83%	944	486,483
June	110,719	22.40%	5,379	1.09%	1,306	494,266
July	110,081	21.62%	5,757	1.13%	1,555	509,070
August	104,709	20.51%	11,007	2.16%	1,286	510,451
September	58,914	12.84%	15,343	3.34%	791	458,727
October	69,027	14.39%	3,303	0.69%	747	479,797
November	51,298	11.30%	1,418	0.31%	575	454,162
December	85,302	18.38%	5,324	1.15%	989	464,205
2017 (Annual)	1,029,474	18.14%	82,693	1.46%	12,530	5,674,621

When a storm hits an airport, a significant increase in the number of canceled flights is imminent. For example, Hurricane Harvey was the primary cause for nearly 2,000 canceled flights at George Bush International in Houston last August. The airport bounced back once the storm cleared.

Month	Flights Canceled	Canceled (%)	Flight Operations
May	136	1.18%	11,505
June	77	0.68%	11,298
July	121	1.05%	11,507
August	1,949	17.51%	11,131
September	878	8.97%	9,792
October	23	0.22%	10,608

Data Source: InsureMyTrip and The U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS).

Hurricanes and Airline Cancellation Policies
Flight cancellation policies vary by airline and circumstance. When an airline cancels a flight due to bad weather, most will try to rebook passengers on the next available flight.

Airlines are not required to reimburse travelers for losses incurred as a result of a canceled flight, including:

Hotel fees
All-inclusive vacation or resort fees
Cruise payment
A pre-paid tour or safari
Concert or entertainment tickets

Travelers concerned about protecting any pre-paid, non-refundable trip expenses should buy travel insurance.

To schedule an interview with an expert or to request specific research data, please contact Airport Data Analyst Danny DeMello at [email protected].

Methodology
*Airports were ranked by the InsureMyTrip data team. Data combined three years of on-time performance data for the 25 busiest airports (based on volume of flight operations) located in Eastern US. On-time performance data included weather delays for airports — including those attributed to extreme weather conditions and delays under the control of the National Airspace System (NAS). Proportion of weather delays to number of flights was also calculated in addition to the overall number of delays and minutes of delays. Researchers also reviewed the percentage of cancellations (domestic arrivals and departures). Data was obtained by the US Department of Transportation's (DOT) Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS), the agency that tracks the on-time performance of domestic flights operated by large air carriers.

Researchers evaluated on-time data for selected airports during the 2015, 2016, and 2017 hurricane season. The official hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th (Source: NOAA).

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SOURCE InsureMyTrip