You may want to hold off on booking that getaway.
With the kids out of school, and the slow pace of the office, summer can be a great time to travel, especially if you’re looking to go to Europe. But it’s also the busiest time for airports, which are typically riddled with delays this time of year.
Recently, MagnifyMoney.com released its 5th annual study on the worst airports for summer delays, based on Department of Transportation airport arrival data for the 50 busiest U.S. airports between 2008 and 2017.
To no one’s surprise, the report found that more than half of airports have more summer than winter delays, and it’s also getting worse: 54 percent of airports reporting worse on-time arrival rates in 2017 than 2016. (On the bright side, though, the average on-time rate across all airports is still 76.1 percent, meaning roughly 3 out of 4 flights do actually depart on schedule).
But one of the study’s key findings was the worst of the three months between Memorial and Labor Day to get on a flight.
“June is the worst month for summer airport delays,” the press release states. “Three-quarters (76 percent) of airports reviewed had the most summer delays in June. And the overall on-time rate for June was 76 percent, compared with the summer average of 77.1 percent.”
It’s a particularly bad time to travel to or from Florida, as that’s when it’s average levels of precipitation is at its highest, and hurricane season officially begins. In general, the report found that coastal airports, like Newark-Liberty (EWR), LaGuardia (LGA), and San Francisco (SFO), suffer some of the worst summer delays due to heavy congestion and unruly weather.
On the other hand, Honolulu International Airport (HNL) and Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC) ranked highest for best on-time summer travel. Also worth noting is that Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), which is in the middle of a major construction project that includes a major relocation of 21 airlines, was crowned the most improved airport, with on-time flights up 5.5% between 2016 and 2017.
And for when you figure out when you want to book, learn the secret trick that can save you up to 50 percent on airfare.
